Pages

Monday, January 28, 2013

L*A*W - Best Rap/Hip-Hop Album for 'Tha Planet 12 Syndrome'


1. Who are your musical influences and what inspires you to create?
Prince, Funkadelic, Chicago, N.W.A, Public Enemy, Bruce Springsteen, Carly Simon, KISS, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Rakim, The Commodores, Big Daddy Kane, Sly & The Family Stone, New Edition, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Run-DMC, Vanilla Fudge & The Isley Brothers... Life Situations, Television, Cartoons, Action Movies & Strong Women are what inspire me to create.

2. What is your opinion on the current state of the music industry and what are the pros/cons of being an independent artist?
The current state of the music industry is in a state of emergency & needs a serious face lift & surgery... The pro of being an Independent Artist is being able to do music your own way with full artistic creative freedom... The con is a situation like mine where you have to do everything yourself which can be time consuming but even with that, it's still a pro too.

3. If you could spend an hour with any musician, living or dead, who would it be, and why?
Stevie Wonder, Peter Cetera, Maurice White Of Earth, Wind & Fire because I want to express to them that unlike the common fans that was just there for the hits, I was into the whole albums.

4. What are your aspirations for 2013 and beyond?
To conquer the music industry & have some influence in it... be a major star but still having my traditional music values & TO INSPIRE OTHERS.

5. How do you feel to have won a LadyLake Indie Award?
It's a honor & serious blessing to be recognized for the pure musical mission I'm on especially after some other major & even independent record labels didnt see the vision! This indie award reminds me that my mission & hard work is not in vain!!

To learn more about L*A*W, please visit the following links:

www.planet12law.com

www.twitter.com/planet12law

www.facebook.com/lawplanet12

www.facebook.com/planet12productions

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Loretta Hagen - Best Folk Female for 'Mud and Stone'


Who are your musical influences and what inspires you to create?
I have so many I could fill pages but, my important earliest influences were Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Karla Bonoff and Bonnie Raitt. I wore their albums out! Over the years I drew inspiration from bands like Fleetwood Mac, The Pretenders, REM. Sheryl Crow, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kathy Mattea, Kim Richey, Shawn Colvin, Nanci Griffith, Patty Griffin, Lucinda Williams, John Gorka, Kevin Welch, Emmylou Harris, the list goes on and on.
What inspires me to write?
Lots of things!
A drive in the country, a walk on a warm, sunny day. The mountains, love, loss, happiness, friends, family, life events, special causes such as raising awareness for Alzheimer's Disease, poverty and economical struggles, books, movies, tv shows! Whatever is in my heart that I need to be express.

What is your opinion on the current state of the music industry and what are the pros/cons of being an independent artist?
The music industry today has changed drastically in good ways and bad. One of the pros today, of course, is your music can reach many people on the internet through YouTube, pod-casts, internet radio, iTunes, social media etc. So many artists and bands have built a huge fan base without a record company. As long as you have the computer savvy to do so and the time to spend at it, you can do well atcontrolling your own indie career. But still, with all that at your fingertips, unless you are very good at marketing, lots of us still need a team to help get our music out to the public. One of the cons of being an indie artist is that the economy has hit the music industry as a whole very hard, making it tough for artists to get work as much as they would like too. It's more about numbers and filling the seats in lots of venues today instead of being about the music. That is unfortunate because people who attend shows are missing out on lots of great, undiscovered talent, but understandable, that the venues need funds to stay afloat too! It is crucial that fans get out to hear their favorite artists because without them, those artists and bands careers can not thrive. There are still venues who take a chance on indie and unknown artists and we appreciate them so much! Another con is people aren't buying CD's as much today. They prefer to download songs, so they may choose to buy only one or two songs and not give the entire album a chance. On the other side of that, if they like what they hear, they can always go back and download more.

If you could spend an hour with any musician, living or dead, who would it be, and why?
I'd have to say Joni Mitchell. I would love to be in the presence of a genius! I was such a Joni freak that one time, when I had tickets to see her in concert, I was fighting the flu and had a very high fever the day of the show. Did I stay home in bed? Of course not! I could not miss that show!! Joni shaped the lives of so many female singer-songwriters of my generation. I think I would fall over myself if I got the chance to meet her!

What are your aspirations for 2013 and beyond?
For 2013, I hope to get out and perform more, doing shows in areas that I haven't had the opportunity to get to. I would love to write and record another album. I hope to continue on this journey that I love being on for as long as people will listen.

How do you feel to have won a LadyLake Indie Award?
It is a thrill and an honor to be a LadyLake winner. This is my second win and it feels great to be recognized for the work not only that I have put into this album, but all who worked on it with me. Writing is hard work, though very rewarding, it's always nice to hear you're doing something right!! Cindy and Jen are sweet, hard working women and I am so happy they included me on their list of winners.

Links and Info:
Management/Publicity: Trespass Music, Michelle Fortier, 519-300-5954, michelle@trespassmusic.org
Radio Promotion: Trespass Music, Tracey Delfino, 774-269-3834 tracey@trespassmusic.org
EPK: http://www.trespassmusic.org/artists/lorettahagen/
Website: http://www.lorettahagen.com
Title Track 'Mud and Stone': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45X3VQzIo6o

Sunday, January 13, 2013

The Jellybricks - CD of the Year for ‘Suckers’


1. Who are your musical influences and what inspires you to create?
When The Jellybricks formed in January of 1996, we had all recently watched "The Beatles Anthology" documentary on tv, and therefore, an appreciation for The Beatles was our first common bond. In fact, the first song we learned to play together was "Bad to Me," an early Lennon/McCartney song which was never released by The Beatles. Beyond that, we all mutually appreciate long lists of bands, but we have been known to cover Crowded House, R.E.M., The Smithereens, The Cure, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Cracker and Neil Young, to name a few artists whom we all enjoy. Our overall "sound," though - is one which has evolved over our seventeen years together - it's the sound of four guys who are old enough to know and love the roots of rock'n'roll, but who grew up through the years of metal, punk, new wave and grunge music: old-school songwriting elements played with aggression, emotion, and tempered with an ever-present sense of humor.

As for creative inspiration, we all have individual favorite influences... and we all write songs, so those songs come from our individual lives, experiences, observations, and as much as anything, a commitment to entertaining our listeners with new music.

2. What is your opinion on the current state of the music industry and what are the pros/cons of being an independent artist?
We had already released two CDs by the time Napster came along, and the elements of the music industry began to change rapidly around us. In the early days, we were courted by several major labels, but no deal ever materialized, so we have been an independent act for every second of our career. It's the only existence we've ever known, and every success, and every loss has belonged to us, on our own terms. I don't think we regret a thing about what has worked for us - kept us together, making new music, playing new places - and that must include the fact that we have never been "signed."

The truth is that to some degree, we stopped paying much attention to the industry many years ago. We got on with writing, playing, performing, and cultivating our relationship with our fans. I suppose that our opinion on the industry doesn't even exist, as of this writing. Luckily for us, we've enjoyed an existence outside of it.

Nowadays, an artist can relate directly to an audience, with the aid of the internet, in ways that were never possible for any version of the old music industry, so while things will never be as they once were, per se - there is still an opportunity for new music to be shared. That's certainly the part that matters most.

3. If you could spend an hour with any musician, living or dead, who would it be, and why?
Everyone who knows me (Larry Kennedy), knows that my personal answer to this question would be Paul McCartney. The Beatles were my first, favorite band from the time I was a child, and to strum a few chords, or ask the questions I'd love to ask about his life and work - would be amazing. As it happens, I know many people who have met him - but we never seem to cross paths...

4. What are your aspirations for 2013 and beyond?
The Jellybricks have been working on new music, to be recorded soon, and very hopefully released in 2013. We are committed to continuing to try to improve our songs, our recordings, and to play more and more places, for more and new listeners. We are a lucky gang, having had so many good musical years together, so every new year is its own gift.

5. How do you feel to have won a LadyLake Indie Award?
We always appreciate it when our work is recognized, and when people like the music we've created. We are proud to receive the LadyLake Indie Award, "CD of the Year" for Suckers. Thank you!

To learn more about The Jellybricks, please visit the following links:

www.thejellybricks.com
www.facebook.com/thejellybricks
www.twitter.com/thejellybricks
www.youtube.com/jellybricks