Lazie Indie Magazine Edition 14 27 June, 2021
Dellacoma Rio Colm Gavin Jimena Arroyo
Keshet Fiasco, Word 66 Ashram
Regarding Henry Liz Mandeville MaineStream, Vin Sinners, Bongo Boy Records
On Cover Barry Benedetta
Content
Editors Corner Ashram Dellacoma Rio The Fiasco Jimena Arroyo Regarding Henry The Mainestream Liz Mandeville -TDGBR
Keshet The Word 66 Colm Gavin Vin Sinners - Dats Column Bongo Boy Records
Cover Story Barry Benedetta
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Editors Corner
Information The magazine is published by Lazie J Print Edition 14 The month of publishing June - 2021
Editorial Team Author/Editor: Jay N Pillai Co-ordination and Promotion: Manoj Verified by: Inge Zimmermann Probst
Guest Feature: Column and Review: Tomiko Dixon Galaxy FM NZL Darshan Shankar
Cover Photo: Barry Benedetta Cover Photo Courtesy Ralph Heil
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A written magazine in a Digital Age? A written magazine in a digital age when everything in music runs on videos and viral content looks outdated today and that too of about not so popular artists? This looked a bad idea when I started this. One year down the line a lot of people tell me we are doing a tremendous job and magazine looks great. After 14 editions and 3 Special Editions I can say a few things about this now. We now know people still like to read and know more about their fellow artists and not just watch videos. And you don't need to be the most capable designer to do this. You need a sincere wish to talk about and present a fellow musician the best you can to world at large. Over time, I have realized that if your intentions are good you will find great contributors who can bring in the value you want to pass on and a lot of people will read and support your work. You need to take the first step to bring them to one platform and that requires a lot of integrity and hard work. A friend once told me that Indie music scene is full of self seekers and that is why they stay independent. Well! That is not entirely true... Not all are self seekers else Lazie Indie Magazine wouldn't have been here. Coming to this edition, we have an excellent line up as we always do. We have artists cutting across genre and cutting across continents, from Australia to Austria to India, to Argentina, USA and the list goes on. Our aspiration is to keep this as broad as it is now and expand our horizons to other allied activities. Hope we will reach there soon along with our friends. Thank you for your support. Keep supporting musicians as all they do is entertain you and they deserve our support. Do check our Merchandises also ... Thank you, Jay.
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Lazie Indie Magazine caught up with ace guitarist Barry Benedetta, the former axeman for Waysted (formed by Pete Way of UFO) which became a part of Metal history by being in the "4th best Metal Moments of all times". He also played the much acclaimed guitar solos in the Cinderella's (80s Hard Rock powerhouse) Multi-Platinum hits from the album "Night Songs". Inspired by Jimmy Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Michael Schenker, Van Halen and inspiration to many who follow him, Barry Benedetta earned a place of his own amongst the 'Guitar Greats' who made the 80s the colorful time in music it was. Barry now works on his own Project 'DeBenedetta' which is releasing new singles adding up to their album“Rise Up” which is scheduled to hit the music world soon. Jay from LIM spoke to Barry Benedetta to know more about his illustrious career, his influences, his gears and much more...
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Jay: Hi Barry, it is an honor to speak to you. Thank you for your time. You have had an illustrious career spanning decades. When you look back, what would Barry Benedetta tell himself about his career? Barry Benedetta: I would say it has been one heck of a roller coaster ride! Jay: Who were your musical influences and why did you choose playing Metal and Hard Rock? Barry Benedetta: My main influence starting out was Jimi Hendrix. After him I was inspired by, learned from and modeled myself after Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple), Michael Schenker (UFO), Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen.
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Jay: Your band Waysted had great success as a band with your songs well received and the tour in 1984 ranked the 4th best Metal Moments of All Times”. How were those days with Waysted? Barry Benedetta: That tour was so surreal that it felt like a dream the entire time. Pete Way is legendary and was also in UFO with my biggest guitar influence Michael Schenker, so it was an honor to play with him. Jay: How was your entry into Cinderella and did you expect the project “Night Songs” to go multi platinum? Barry Benedetta: No I had no idea that the album would sell well over 3 and a half million copies worldwide. How I entered the situation was Tom Keifer had asked me to join Cinderella, but I declined the offer. Later Tom asked me to play on the album and I accepted the offer. LIM
Jay: You have collaborated with some phenomenal musicians and performed during one of the most colorful times of Rock music the 1980s…What do you see as the notable difference in musical approach of artists now and then? Barry Benedetta: In my humble opinion the quality of the production and songwriting has improved significantly. Image is still important but not as important as it was in the ‘80s. Jay: How is DeBenedetta project progressing? Can you let us know more about your latest releases? Barry Benedetta: After moving to Nashville and writing music for a really hip church we decided to record a Christian album entitled Barry Bennedetta “Arise In Glory”. From that release I was approached by a record company and manager from the UK.
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"The best advice given to me was by former Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth with Michael Schenker right beside him. He said, “You have to believe in yourself, because if you don’t then no one else will believe in you either.”"- Barry Benedetta Listen to DeBenedetta 'Shadows' at : https://lynxinbio.com/debenedetta
Through them I met Shimmer Johnson and her Juno Award winning husband Corey Johnson and we immediately started working on the DeBenedetta “Shadows” CD. It is going very well and we are currently working on our second album “Rise Up”. Jay: What gear do you use while recording and also while playing live. Which is your absolute favorite guitar and why? Barry Benedetta: In the recording studio for my guitar solos I use a Kemper. Live I use Marshall amps and Fender Classic Series ‘70s Reissue Stratocasters exclusively. For playing in church I use a Line 6 FIREHAWK FX and go directly into the mixing board. My favorite guitar is the Fender Classic Series ‘70s
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Reissue, which is an exact replica of the Fender Stratocaster I had in high school only with several improvements. Jay: How did you cope with the Covid scare as a musician and what do you think would be the best way to overcome these terrible times for musicians, especially live performers? Barry Benedetta: The COVID-19 pandemic I’m sure was quite devastating for a lot of touring musicians who depend on touring as their main source of income. Performing and teaching online I believe is one way to cope during times such as this. Jay: What are your plans for the immediate future as a musician and for your projects? Have you toured India and would you be looking to do so in future?
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Barry Benedetta: I hope to be able to tour soon to promote the Shadows CD. No I haven’t toured out of the country except for Canada. I would love to play in India and all around the world. It’s up to God to open and shut the right doors in my life. Jay: What gives you the kick - Writing songs, recording songs or playing live? Barry Benedetta: Playing in the studio has to be so precise and can be stressful at times depending on who you are working with of course. Playing live is the ultimate rush for me. Jay: What is your opinion about online live programs? Barry Benedetta: I don’t have an opinion about online live programs because I haven’t seen any for many years.
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Jay: What was the best advice given to you? What would you suggest to an upcoming artist/band to help them do better in music as a veteran Rock musician who has seen generations of artists? Barry Benedetta: The best advice given to me was by former Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth with Michael Schenker right beside him. He said, “You have to believe in yourself, because if you don’t then no one else will believe in you either.” - Thank you Photo Credits: Ross Halfin, Kalli Mellenius, Linda Benedetta, Ralph Heil and Shimmer Johnson.
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In 2004 while touring India, Austrian musicians Manuel Seidl (vox), Boris Seidl (guitar), Dominik Hofer (drums) and German Schwarz (drums/bass) who had been playing together for 6 years as Fur Balloon founded their new oriental rock-fusion style outfit called Ashram adding Indian members Ajayan Gopi (takil), Saju Nivas (vox), Hari Kumar, Anu Praveen and Sooraj Santhosh to the outfit. They toured extensively in India specifically for a project called Prison-tour visiting jails with their music. Ashram played in over a hundred prisons over the years. In 2006 the band got together again in Kerala for the recording of their first album in Thiruvananthapuram . In 2007 Ashram released their first self titled album in India. After that India tour the band realized the vision to bring all musicians on one stage in 2007 in August and September 2007 when they LIM
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presented their first album and played more than 30 gigs across Germany and Austria with new members Adrian Miller and Jayaprakash in the line up. Boris Seidl then went around Los Angeles (US) searching for a professional music producer for Ashram. In May 2009 the band regrouped with Indian vocalist Anu Praveen. They also roped in top producer from L.A - Thom Russo who had worked with bands like System of a Down, Audio slave, Johnny Cash and Michael Jackson. Currently Ashram is working on their third album inspired by Hermann Hesse's Indian novel Siddhartha. It is due to be released in 2022. LIM speaks to founding member Boris Seidl who talks about their journey so far and their future plans. LIM: Hi Boris, welcome to Lazie Indie Magazine, great to have you speaking to our readers. Could you kindly introduce Ashram to our readers how was the band formed, who all are the line-up and who picked whom?
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Boris: Hi Lazie! Thank you for the interview! The band Ashram came together when I (Boris Seidl – guitarist) travelled to India in 2004 and met Ajayan Gopi (Takil) and Saju Nivas (Vocals). Fascinated by the sound we were creating during jam sessions and we started to envision a cross-continental band. Few years later, we have already toured across Europe for seven weeks. 2006 we met Hari Kumar in the studios of Trivandrum. We were impressed of his skills and asked him to join our band Ashram. After a short time Anu Praveen and Sooraj Santhosh joined this Band as singers too. LIM: Who or what were your musical influences and how did you arrive at this genre you play? Boris: Before 2002 the European members of Ashram played in different Rockbands. Manuel and I were mostly influenced by the sound of the 70ties. Especially Led Zeppelin have been our musical heroes. Boris even met Led Zeppelin's guitarist Jimmy Page in person in London. Thereby it came to a conversation about Ashram. At that time Boris talked with Jimmy Page about a possible Cover version of the song Kashmir. Jimmy Page said at that time that he could imagine a collaboration. He said that he already had the thought of an Indian version of Kashmir some years ago. LIM: How do you go about writing your songs? Who writes in the band and what gets the precedence lyrics or the music? How does a song progress to a final presentation? Boris: It is not easy to write songs for Ashram. Most songs have lyric lines in English and Malayalam or Sanskrit. Also, we need to merge Rock music and Indian classical music. For normal we start with a demo song, written on guitar with vocals. Step by step we try to develop drums, percussion, bass, and different instruments. Unfortunately, we do not life in the same countries, so it takes a long time to create this style.
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LIM: How do you record and produce your music? Are you particular with recording gear which you feel is important to bring out the kind of sound you want? Boris: This Is also a long process. We try to catch emotions, so we record different parts many times in different locations. Perhaps writing music could be compared to drawing a picture. It takes a very long time, sometimes you must wait to get new ideas. We record, wait, delete and record again. And sometimes we start from the very beginning. LIM: What gives you the kick, writing, producing or playing live and why? Boris: I think the drive in producing an album is to create something new. It’s like to build up something. And for sure you need to present the artwork. To play on a stage in front of hundreds or thousand people those support you is the best feeling you can ever catch! In the end, we are all passionate musicians. Why you make music is a big question. You can ask this question in all fields of life. You do it because an inner voice says you have to do it. Maybe comparable to the Indian idea of a karma. LIM: How do you overcome the lockdown on live music and is the internet-based performance good enough to generate a livelihood for musicians? Boris: These worldwide lockdowns are a shame on humanity. Many people have lost their jobs and their livelihood. To survive, you need a job and something to eat. Unfortunately, the big losers are the people who already had to live a hard life before. Fighting a virus is okay, but there are many other battles in life that you have to fight to survive. A really difficult subject to deal with. We try to make the best out of the situation. That's why we're working on our third album right now. We're in the studios having virtual band meetings. With our third album Siddhartha we try to send a positive signal to the world. We will be back in 2022 with our band Ashram, so we want to encourage many people.
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Find Ashram's album “Prison Without Walls” recorded in India and Austria, and mixed down by multi-Grammy winner “Thom Russo” in L.A. in the below links. www.ashram-music.com, https://www.instagram.com/ashram_music and also in Spotify.
LIM: What are your immediate future plans? Boris: We want to continue with Ashram, even if this band is not easy to keep together. On the one hand, we are a band that lives on two continents. On the other hand it is difficult to generate income with the music. Especially now, when you can't even play a live tour. It's a big challenge and you need a lot of energy. That's why we are especially grateful to Shaheer SS, bassist of the band Cycle Chain. He is a longtime friend and a very special person. It is thanks to him that we are trying a reunion with a third album with Ashram next year. Among other things, we have Shaheer to thank for this interview. LIM: Being a successful musician yourself what would you tell an upcoming musician to keep in mind to launch a LIM
successful career in music? Boris: Good question. We mentioned before that we met Jimmy Page a few years ago. Boris asked him exactly the same question. Jimmy Page answered during this conversation in London: A basic rule is, that a general answer to a question will never be enough. There is no rule or magic formula that leads to success. If there was one, someone would simply wrap it up in a general formula for success and could sell it very expensively. Those were the words of Jimmy Page when we asked him in a personal conversation a few years ago what the key to success is. At that time, we asked him a other question too, why the band didn't continue: "Led Zeppelin without John Bonham, wasn't Led Zeppelin anymore. We lost an incredible musician and a very good friend. We were already Page18
trying with other drummers at that time, but without John it wasn't Led Zeppelin anymore". These words of Jimmy Page showed us the spirit and genius of the band. Led Zeppelin was much more than four individual top musicians. It must be similar for every band, family or team. Success is the sound of eagles respecting each other and pulling on a rope together. To finish the illustration with Led Zeppelin, we as Ashram can only agree to those words of Jimmy. We have unique musicians and we are a band for many years and it's time to live unique musical moments. - Thank you
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Born in Seattle but raised in Australia, Dellacoma Rio has been a sensational stage performer for more than a decade. After spending 6 years acting in the USA on stage and TV, he returned to Australia in 2007 and recorded and toured with 2 Sydney based bands; Innertone (2008-9) and Sunset Riot (2009-2013), before launching his solo Rock band career in 2014 with “Dead Will Rise” EP followed by a debut full-length album “South of Everything” (2015). In 2018 Rio joined the INXS tribute band “The Australian INXS Show”. 2019 saw the release of a new “Dellacoma” single “Vampires” as well as the release of Rio’s first book; a collection of poetry entitled “Red Threads”. Dellacoma released “Till We All Belong” in 2020 and his upcoming release is scheduled on July 15th across digital platforms. Galaxy FM NZL speaks to Dellacoma Rio... LIM
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GalaxyFM: For the benefit of our readers can you kindly introduce yourself? Dellacoma: My name is Dellacoma Rio, I've been dubbed the "electric gypsy" by Byron More of "the Beautiful Car Crash". From 2009-2013 I was the front man for Sydney based rockers "Sunset Riot". Following the breakup of that band I started my solo band (Dellacoma) in 2014, released a debut album in 2015, fan club EP in 2019, 2 stand alone singles in 2019 with our second full length album due for release mid 2021. Galaxy FM: Since when have you been into music? Dellacoma: I've always enjoyed music and singing but I started taking music more seriously in 2008 when I joined Sydney based Pop rockers "Innertone". Galaxy FM: Who were your musical influences and how does it reflect in the genre of music do you create? Dellacoma: Growing up I was heavily influenced by Bee Gees, James Taylor, Carole King and Chicago. In high school I discovered Aerosmith, Matchbox Twenty, Stone Temple Pilots, Silverchair and Soundgarden who all heavily influence the music I write today. I love raw, passionate music and thought provoking lyrics. Galaxy FM: How do you go about writing your songs? Dellacoma: When inspiration strikes I try to just open the door as wide as possible. I also love to co-write as much as I can because I enjoy the collaborative process. Galaxy FM: What do you look to convey to your listeners when you create music do you look to set a lyrical theme first or you let the music dictate the lyrics? Dellacoma: I do both but generally I write and it just takes shape. Lyrically speaking the concepts generally present themselves then I just refine the edges. Galaxy FM: How do you record and produce the songs? Dellacoma: I demo initial ideas using the voice memos app on my phone or a cowriter will send me a musical idea. From there I refine it vocally/lyrically then send to Voya (producer/co-writer/guitarist), LIM
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"Never give up, do what sets your soul on fire and always be open to learning"
he then works his magic and when we're happy with the song we then set about recording, which in the current climate is all done remotely. Galaxy FM: What are your plans for the immediate future? Tell us more about your latest release? Dellacoma: I don't really have touring plans for the immediate future unfortunately with the current restrictions in place in Australia it’s very hard to plan much. My latest release is due for release physically on 07 July and digitally around the world on 16 July on all good streaming platforms. Hopefully we can then tour it in 2022! My last full tour internationally was back in 2018, so I'd say it’s high time. Galaxy FM: What gives you the kick, writing, recording or playing live and why? LIM
Dellacoma: Playing live is definitely where I get the biggest rush but the process of creating a song is incredible I must say. Galaxy FM: Where can we find your music on the internet? Dellacoma: Just search "Dellacoma" on any good streaming service or YouTube. If you want to dig a little deeper you can also search for "Sunset Riot", we made 2 EP's (Self titled and "Uprising") and released 3 music videos. - Thank you
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About the columnist Around the Galaxy is a column contributed by Galaxy FM 107, New Zealand, introducing artists from New Zealand and Australia. Galaxy FM is one of the top radio stations in New Zealand and is quickly expanding its listener base across the world. The authors of the column, Barbara Harkins and DJ Grant are well known radio hosts at Galaxy FM hosting the popular Breakfast Show. LIM thanks team Galaxy for their support. Check out their website www.galaxyfm.co.nz
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The Fiasco is a British Pop Rock band which is steadily climbing the ladder of success with their hits ‘Played Me At My Own Game’, and ‘Breaking Out’ released 30th April 2021. Their songs have got steady airplay in radios across the world and that has helped the band to secure their deal with a major UK Publisher. The Fiasco has a very attractive Pop/Rock sound with catchy hooks, melodies that will stick in your head and red hot guitars leaving you want to keep hitting the repeat button!. Jay from Lazie Indie Magazine spoke guitarist and producer Adam about the musical direction of the band and their story so far...let us check out.
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Jay: You have had a promising career in music so far. When you look back how do you feel was your journey so far? Adam: Hi, thanks for having us! Our journey so far has been fun! Myself (Adam) and Tim met back in school and had similar tastes in music and so decided to get together one day for a jam and it just went from there. We have honed our writing skills and are releasing regular music now, and the next stage for us is to build our live presence around the UK. Jay: How was the band formed? Who picked whom? Adam: The band was born back in 2007 when I met Tim in college. We played for the first year as a 4 piece band, however our drummer and bassist left as they went on to do other things and live in different parts of the country. For a few years afterwards myself and Tim continued to release music but perform live as an Acoustic Duo which we had a lot of fun doing, however we missed the buzz about playing full band live shows. Jack was a friend of ours, who played bass and he had similar tastes in music so he joined the band in 2015, and we found Matt through a Facebook group whilst looking for a drummer. The 4 of us hit it off together right from the first rehearsal. Jay: How do you go about writing your songs? Adam: It's usually myself and Tim who will write the songs. One of us will come up with an idea, record a demo and then bounce it off the other one until we have a full song fleshed out. Jay: How do you record and produce your music? Adam: I have been a professional producer for the last 5 years and worked with bands all over the world. We have our own studio, where we record and produce all of our music. It's really handy when we have an idea and we want to work on quickly, as all of the resources are at our disposal. Jay: Where do we find your music on the internet? Which is your latest release? Adam: All of our music can be found on LIM
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"I think it really comes down to an innate desire to create music and express yourself. Ask any musician WHY they write and perform music and it's usually because they can't imagine their life without it and that's very much the same for us!".
Spotify, Apple Music and all the usual places... just search for 'The Fiasco'. Our latest single is called 'Breaking Out'. Jay: What gives you the kick, writing, producing or playing live and why? Adam: Great question! I think it really comes down to an innate desire to create music and express yourself. Ask any musician WHY they write and perform music and it's usually because they can't imagine their life without it and that's very much the same for us! Being able to reach people and connect people with our music is an extremely rewarding experience, and if we can help just one person through a difficult time, or put a smile on one persons' face, then that's awesome! Jay: How do you overcome the lockdown on live music and is the internet-based performance good enough to generate a livelihood for musicians? LIM
Adam: Lockdown has been tough for sure! Especially for musicians, but there are so many other avenues to connect with your fans in the current climate! Yes it's been hard not playing live, however livestreams have worked really well for us to continue to grow our audience. Also it's entirely possible to produce and record music remotely these days (I've been doing this since long before the pandemic) so we've still been creating and releasing music too! Jay: What are your immediate future plans? Adam: Our immediate plan is to get back in the studio and finish up our next single release which is planned at some point in June/July. After that, we will be back in regular rehearsals and booking shows. We currently have one show planned in October in Norfolk with our friends RANE. Page28
Jay: Being a successful musician/band yourself, what would you tell an upcoming musician to keep in mind to launch a successful career in music? Adam: Be true to yourself in your music and what you do, and don't compromise! If you want to reach a goal enough, then you will find a way to make it work... the most important thing is taking action towards your goals! - Thank you
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Jimena Arroyo is a singer-songwriter & author from Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the age of 8, she wrote her first song in English. At the age of 19, she won a car in a singing competition on the TV show "1,2,3 OUT!". She has published seven children’s books so far and co-written songs with very talented musicians and producers from across the world. She released her first album "Ten Waves" on January 3rd, 2020 and is releasing singles for her solo album, co-written with and produced by multi-instrumentalist CJ Teffner (Arizona, USA). Her music is being played on radio stations worldwide and has been nominated for several prestigious independent music awards. She won the ISSA award for Best International Female Vocalist in 2020. LIM spoke to Jimena Arroyo about her career and future plans. LIM
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LIM: Hi Jimena, Welcome to Lazie Indie Magazine, great to have you speaking to our readers. Jimena: Hi there! Thank YOU for having me. It’s a real pleasure. LIM: You have had a rising career in music. When you look back, how do you feel was your journey so far? Jimena: It was a bumpy ride for sure, with many ups and downs, but I guess it’s not any different from that of many other independent artists out there. We know things aren’t easy and sometimes we feel frustrated and discouraged, but it’s the passion for music that keeps us going. LIM: Who or what were your musical influences and how did you arrive at this genre you play? Jimena: Growing up, I was obsessed with Roxette, Heart, Richard Marx, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Shania Twain and Alanis Morissette, among many other artists. I love Pop-Rock from the 80’s and 90’s and I can’t help feeling my songs are heavily influenced by those artists. I believe my genre lies somewhere between Pop-Rock and Adult Oriented Rock. LIM: How do you go about writing your songs? Jimena: Sometimes songs come from a very strong internal need to vent, to express myself and be understood. When I write on my own, I pick up the guitar and start playing around with different chord progressions and melodies. Lyrics come last, once the lead melody is ready. Other times, when I co-write with other musicians, I am usually sent an instrumental platform to topline (write a melody and lyrics on top). And there are times in which ideas come back and forth between co-writers and a song starts taking shape. I enjoy all the different songwriting processes, really. LIM: How do you record and produce your music? Are you particular with any recording gear which you feel is important to bring out the kind of voice you want? Jimena: I track my vocals in my home studio and send them over to the producers I work with. I don’t produce LIM
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Website: www.jimenaarroyo.com.ar Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamjimenaarroyo Twitter: www.twitter.com/iamjimenaarroyo Facebook: www.facebook.com/iamjimenaarroyo
the songs myself. I prefer to focus on what I know best: Singing and writing. I prefer to leave that to the professional producers and mixing engineers I’ve been blessed to work with (CJ Teffner, Jonnie Cook, Phil Trickey, Torbjorn Vagle, Mike Gabriel, to name a few). LIM: Where do we find your music on the internet? Which is your latest release? Jimena: My music can be found on all major streaming platforms, such as Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Deezer, YouTube, Soundcloud… I’m also very active on social media: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter mainly (my handle for all those sites is the same @IamJimenaArroyo). My latest release is called “Scarlet Stream” and it’s a song I co-wrote with CJ Teffner. It’s a rock song about feeling in despair because things don’t go as we had planned them. LIM
LIM: What gives you the kick, writing, producing or playing live and why? Jimena: I truly enjoy performing live. Similarly, I could spend my days in a recording studio tracking vocals. But what I’m really passionate about is the creative process: Writing lyrics and coming up with melodies that give me goosebumps. It’s just a magical process I adore. LIM: How do you overcome the lockdown on live music and is the internet-based performance good enough to generate a livelihood for musicians? Jimena: Well, I stopped playing live and touring when I became a mom, long before the lockdown, so I stopped generating a livelihood from gigging. But now, thanks to globalization and access to the Internet, we, musicians, have several resources to promote our music online Page34
and reach people from all over the world, which is a blessing indeed. LIM: What are your immediate future plans? Jimena: I’m really looking forward to finishing the album I’m working on with CJ Teffner. I’m also pitching my songs for TV, films and advertising and I hope to be back on the stage in the near future. LIM: Being a successful musician yourself what would you tell an upcoming musician to keep in mind to launch a successful career in music? Jimena: Keep doing what you love. Pursue your passions and dreams relentlessly. There will be setbacks, frustrations and moments in which you’ll feel like giving up. Don’t. Keep going. It takes time, patience, hard work and determination, and yes, blood, sweat and tears as well, but you’ll get where you want to be eventually. Just believe in LIM
yourself. Thank you so much for having me! I look forward to seeing you all online, until the live music scene starts being active again. Stay safe! - Thank you
Photo Credits: Eugenia Talice - Fotografia
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Henry Mittnacht is the main man behind the project Regarding Henry. Influenced by The Beatles he picked up his guitar and has been guitar player, singer and songwriter since the early 80s and after his original band STATEMENT Henry decided to take a break in the early 2000. He started his home recording in 2006 and joined a community called musicianscollaborationstudios.com, where he met and collaborated with many artists across the world. He collaborated in more than 300 songs and in 2020, he decided to start his own project bringing in other like minded artists called Regarding Henry. Jay from LIM speaks to Henry about his career and his current project.
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"It all happens "in-the-box" these days ( all software in the PC) and if e.g. I want a real drummer I send him my tracks, he does his drums and sends me them back."
Jay: Hi Henry! Thank you for taking your time out to speak to LIM! You have had a career great in music. When you look back, how do you feel was your journey so far both as a musician and as a band? Henry: After my original band STATEMENT decided to take a break in the early 2000 I played - and still do - in several cover bands. I always felt the need to record my original songs and with the upcoming possibilities of home recording and the internet I started home recording in 2006/2007. By the year of 2008 I joined an internet platform called musicianscollaborationstudios.com, where I met lots of musician with the same idea. I played guitar on approx. 300 songs, we had band projects with band members from all over the world, with which I started to write and produce my own songs. In 2020 I then thought it was LIM
about time to leave the shadow of my home and presented my first self titled EP Regarding Henry. Jay: Who/what were your musical influences and how did you arrive at this genre you play? Henry: It all started with the Beatles, of course, which led me to pick up a guitar at the age of 14. By the age of 16 rock music entered my world with Deep Purple´s Ritchie Blackmore, followed by Eddie van Halen and finally Toto´s Steve Lukather. I always was more on the melodic pop side of Rock music and listened to bands like Journey, Styx, Kansas, Saga or the Eagles. Jay: How do you go about writing your songs? In your band who writes the songs? Henry: In my band I was the main songwriter but everyone contributed and Page38
added their dedicated parts to the basic song ideas. Since I do my own stuff, I choose co-writers when I´m stuck or need inspiration, especially with lyrics I love to work with native American lyricists. Over the years I found great musicians, composers and lyricists whom always go back to. Jay: How do you record and produce your music? In the case of your band who does it and how? Henry: I built myself a home studio which used to be a real small, maybe 4-5 square meters place in my attic but since my kids are out a house I moved in a bigger room. There I have all my guitars and recording equipment set up, ready for use any time. It all happens "in-the-box" these days (all software in the PC) and if e.g. I want a real drummer I send him my tracks, he does his drums and sends me them back.
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Jay: Where do we find your/your bands music on the internet? Which is your latest release? Henry: It all started ant the MCS (see above) but now we communicate directly by email. Jay: What gives you the kick, writing, producing or playing live and why? Henry: It´s always great to see what happens with a simple chorus line and how it develops to a fully arranged and produced track. It’s like being a painter in front of a plain canvas and you add some color here and there and finally you have the picture done. Playing live with my bands is a whole other story but since February 2020 until now all live activities are cancelled due to the pandemic. Jay: How do you overcome the lockdown on live music and is the internet-based performance good enough to generate a
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livelihood for musicians? Henry: There´s a silver lining at the horizon for live music. We’re looking forward to at least 2 shows in summer 2021. In the meantime, I was able to gather over 1k fans and listeners on all the platforms I use, like Facebook, YouTube or Instagram. I was hoping for a few plays, maybe a hundred in total. But it grew and now I have fans and listeners all over the world. I never expected that! LIM: What are your immediate future plans? Henry: Well, my second EP "Diversity" is (almost) ready for release but since my collab song (Soon it will be Over), which I wrote but perform it with some of my friends, is having a momentum, I´m not in a rush, anyway. LIM: Being a successful musician/ band yourself, what would you tell an upcoming musician to keep in mind to launch a successful career in music? LIM
Henry: Get all your tasks done way before your release! Keep in mind that you plan your release with up to 6 months ahead, including videos and what not. - Thank you
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Rocky Turen has been in the Phillipino music scene for quite a few years and his latest venture is band formed called The MaineStream which is A Multi-Genre group from Philippines. The band was formed by Rocky Turen (Guitar/Vocals), Jolo Valdivia (Keyboards/Vocals), Raymon Agot (Bass/Vocals) Michael Valdivia (Drums/Percussions) & David Melendez (Saxophonist) from Sampaloc Manila, Philippines. MaineStream has released 7 radio ready songs through Cove Records Philippines and has been awarded in Indie Music Award for 3 categories. Rocky Turen also featured in The Global Philipino Magazine. Lazie Indie Magazine spoke to Rocky Turen about his journey so far as a musician, about the band The MaineStream, and also about their future plans. Let us check out!!!
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"Humbly speaking, being a successful musician is not easy, You need to rattle your dice and gambling yourself to become successful. You need to urge yourself and be part of your life. Just to keep in the minds that you need to be ambitious and ready yourself for struggles".
LIM: For the benefit of our readers could you kindly introduce yourself? Rocky: Hi, I am Rocky Turen from the band, The MaineStream, together with Jolo Valdivia, Raymon Agot, Michael Valdivia and David Melendez from Manila, Philippines. LIM: Who/what were your musical influences? Rocky: Basically, we had a lots of influences, but we as a group loves The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Oasis, Greenday, 1975 and more. And also we listened to Motown music and Indie Musicians. LIM: How do you go about writing your songs? Rocky: When I was 9 years old, I love to make poetries and short stories, reading books. I discover my talents in making songs by admiring Lennon’s and Dylan’s music, I just wrote several songs just for LIM
myself before but I tried to make it seriously when I feel that I need to be like them. “That was a great job!”. I wanna make my music to inspire people and give respect and bring back the good music in the future. Our music brings people together, no matter what language you speak what color you are and what faith you have. We'll just make happiness and satisfaction to the people who can hear us and believe on us. LIM: How do you record and produce your music? Rocky: First thing, when I was on a solo career (DIY Recordings) I record my songs on the low budget equipment at home and started to download it just for free and independently, I used Bandlab music app. And that was it. I made my own sounds of drums, bass, guitars anything until it came to my mind that I Page43
need to grow, I need to be in the band. So even though it’s PANDEMIC, I decided to get a call with the lads and make live at COVE RADIO here in the Philippines, and the management manage us on COVE RECORDS, and we recorded first time on the real recording studio with an label. It was cool and very productive situation. We already recorded 7 songs and 3 music videos as well and the rest will be history. LIM: Where do we find your music on the internet? Which is your latest release? Rocky: You can check our music on all digital platforms worldwide on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, ITunes, and also check our Facebook page and Instagram page: THE MAINESTREAM, also check COVE RADIO Facebook and YouTube Page. LIM: What gives you the kick, writing, producing or playing live and why? Rocky: Like what I’ve said, we want to be famous someday, we want our music to be known and no matter what language you speak, what color you are, we want our music brings people together. I myself do this because this is my passion, and music will live us forever. As of now, we are making virtual live thru social LIM
medias and making virtual guest in all radio, TV platforms here in the Philippines. LIM: How do you overcome the lockdown on live music and is the internet-based performance good enough to generate a livelihood for musicians? Rocky: Actually, on the first, it’s hard for me (on us) to make this “Virtually Happened”. It’s hard for me to embrace the “New Normal” thingy, but the reality is we need to embrace it and we need to go outside the box. The reality of internet speed here in the Philippines is not so much higher, but when we got to Cove Radio platform, everything is good and the quality of music is right. We expressed our music lively and we promote our music easily to the platform. Until now, we are in the midst of Pandemic but we need to embrace the “new normal”, and I know if you are urging to be famous and to your dreams, no matter what, you will do it with love! LIM: What are your immediate future plans? Rocky: We’re just making music forever and promoting the band, that’s what we do, more recordings, albums and live performances even though it’s virtually, and hopefully we can play live to the people VERY SOON! LIM: Being a successful musician yourself, what would you tell an upcoming musician to keep in mind to launch a successful career in music? Rocky: Humbly speaking, being a successful musician is not easy, you need to rattle your dice and gambling yourself to become successful. You need to urge yourself and be part of your life. Just to keep in the minds that you need to be ambitious and ready yourself for struggles. Everyone can be a successful musician, don’t care for the bashers and non-followers just do what you want to do and write your song freely and independently. - Thank you
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Award-winning singer/songwriter/guitarist/record producer/ Blues Hall of Fame inductee Liz Mandeville is also a fascinating blues historian who gives fun, interactive workshops packed with music and juicy blues info. She brings to the stage a giant presence that’s impossible to resist or ignore crafted over years of touring, performing & studying the music she loves. Liz's music showcases her powerful, rich, versatile voice, her creativity as a producer, arranger, guitarist and song-crafter. Liz is many thing rolled into one, she is a Blues Musician, a theatre personality, a blues historian a Yoga instructor among her many avatars. Tomiko Dixon speaks to Liz to know more about her music so far and her plans for the immediate future...
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Liz Mandeville speaks to Tomiko Dixon "I was inspired by surviving a car wreck that totaled my touring van and ended a chapter of my life! It's amazing how much energy for life you get by almost dying. I'm alive, praise GOD!! And thriving thanks to the love and concern of my family, friends and fans all over the world." Tomiko: Who inspired your project and or music? Liz: I was inspired by surviving a car wreck that totaled my touring van and ended a chapter of my life! It's amazing how much energy for life you get by almost dying. I'm alive, praise GOD!! And thriving thanks to the love and concern of my family, friends and fans all over the world. My latest project, Playing With Fire, was really inspired by the fun I had making my previous release, The Stars Motel. On that album I co-wrote with 4 other guitarists on this release I co-create with 4 male guitarists and 2 female violin players. After the great recession, Chicago venues stopped offering rooms to traveling musicians. A guitarist from Tulsa that I'd met when we both had releases on the Earwig Music Co. label called me up and said "Hey Red, I got gigs as House of Blues and Buddy's with a day off in between and no rooms, what should I do?" I told him "You can stay in my studio, but while you're here we have to write and record 3 tunes." He agreed and that was the start of it. We wrote the tunes and recorded them with his rhythm section and my engineer. After him Rachelle Coba, a Cuban blues woman from Miami and protegee of Matt Guitar Murphy, that I'd met playing in Clarksdale MS, got nominated for a Blues Blast Award. They were holding the ceremony in Carbondale that year. She called me up and said "Hey Liz! I know how to get to Chicago, but where the hell is Carbondale?" I told her "Come on up, stay with me for a few days, let's write some tunes and I'll drive you to Carbondale!" We wrote and recorded 3 great songs. Then Dario Lombardo from Italy came to play the Chicago Blues Fest in a tribute to Phil Guy, Buddy's brother, who he'd played with over 19 years until Phil passed from cancer. I got a call, "Hey, can you pick up Dario and have him at your place for a few days? Somebody messed up." So I went and got him from the airport and brought him to my studio. He ended up staying for a month, playing a bunch of gigs with me and we wrote 3 awesome tunes. I had 9 great tunes, not quite an album, but my regular guitar player is Minoru Maruyama. He's originally from Japan and used to play with Johnny B. Moore and Billy Branch when I first met him back in the day. I called him up and said, "Hey Minoru, do you have any tunes you're working on? Wanna do this album with me?" He was like "I'll be right over!" So that was The Stars Motel. Everybody had come for the release parties and we played gigs in Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and several release parties in Chicago including a guitar blowout at Buddy Guy's. Then, when I'd finished all the promotional gigs for that record and everybody had gone home, I had a gig in Highland Park the night before Thanksgiving. We'd played, it was fun, but I kinda had that post-event, postpartum, let-down feeling. I was driving home thinking "Man, why am I still doing LIM
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this crazy music thing? Who do I think I am,dressing up like a hoochie, going out to tell my stories, shake my shimmy, sing my songs and expecting people to care? I'll bet nobody would give two hoots if I never sang or played again!" I believe God was listening to me that night. I believe he was thinking "Seriously? Is that what you think?Well, I'm show you!" Cos all of a sudden I hit a guy. He'd been sitting, like parked, in the slow lane on the Eden's Expressway, I was doing 70! I didn't see him until I was hitting him, turned his sedan into a hatch-back. There were crashes all over so the cops were right there already and saw it happen. Thank God nobody was in the van with me, but my drummer, Andy Sutton, was driving in the next lane and he came around to talk to the police with me. Andy said he didn't see the guy either, he just heard the crash when I hit that guy. So the upshot was I had hit my head and had a concussion so I couldn't look at screens. No Facebook, Insta, Netflix, Prime, no Smart Phone, no Kindle. I had bruises and contusions on my heart, lungs and bones so no singing, no going out, no people. I couldn't risk catching cold, it hurt so much to breathe that coughing was enough to make me fall out! The impact hit my spine and did nerve damage, so my hands was all pins and needles, so no guitar playing! The doctors at the emergency room saved my life. By the time I got there my BP was 280/190, I don't know how I lived! Andy put a note on Facebook and my husband Carl posted a Thanksgiving photo of me in the ER on Insta, so people immediately started sending messages of support. Andy called later and told Carl thousands of people had posted that they were praying for me, people started sending flowers and gifts, it was the most incredible, humbling out pouring of love I'd ever felt. So God rules!! I got it and I'm grateful. It was a hard road back to wellness. (One of the songs on Playing With Fire, Boss Lady, tells this story) The doctors gave me a script for Oxy and said go home, sit on the couch, you're done. But I said "NO!" I LIM
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hated the way that drug made me feel. It didn't take the pain away or cure my body, it just made me so I didn't care. So I found an acupuncturist who treated me with herbs and needles and I started to get better. After about 3 months he said "If you were Chinese I'd tell you to do Tai Chi, but you seem to like Yoga so go do Yoga. And walk every day." So that's what I did. First one and then another of my friends came to visit and the writing process started again. My friend Peter Struijk, a slide guitarist, who's won the IBC with his Dutch band, came from Holland during the winter. He and I wrote and recorded 3 tunes and, because he's a great ragtime player, we recorded a cover version of John Hartford's classic "Hey Babe You Wanna Boogie?" Then Dario came and we did a little tour in the summer. Of course we recorded some more. The following year, Phil Fernandez and Gilles Gabbison, friends I met at a jam in Paris, came for the Blues Fest. I put together a review during the fest so they could play with some Chicago all stars and we did a kick-ass session. Ilana Katz Katz, another woman I met playing Juke Joint Fest in Clarksdale, who's a raw, Appalachian style fiddler, LIM
came to do a few gigs for Delmark. We laid down two tracks. Minoru and I came up with a traditional Chicago, slide guitar tune, Comfort Food Blues, that's been the hit of the album. After we'd laid down the rhythm tracks I took on the job of producing the tracks with my favorite engineer, Jim Godsey. I'd seen Otis Taylor play following the Blues Fest in 2018 and was just knocked out by his Trance Blues approach. Then I happened to hear The Mississippi Magnolias on a playlist and they knocked me out with their Living Color approach to the blues. So I produced one of Dario and my tunes, Everybody Got Wings, using those musicians as inspiration. I invited the amazing Anne Harris (who played with Otis for 8 years) to contribute her passionate violin to the track. That song is the most modern sounding music on the disc, almost Hip Hop, but with a beautiful, emotional slide solo and equally moving violin throughout. We made a video of that song which was used to raise money for the Greater Chicago Food Depository in a WGN Streaming Benefit. I'm so proud of that work! Playing With Fire became that collections name. All the songs are so different, each expressing the unique qualities of the artists I collaborated with along with my vision of where the blues came from and where it's going. I really feel that this is the most ambitious project I've done so far, but I aint done yet! Tomiko: Who would you most like to collaborate with and why? Liz: I'd love to work with Buddy Guy. He's such a great player, great entertainer and wise man. Over the lockdown I read his autobiography and did a lot of listening to his catalogue. I really admire him. After Buddy, I'd like to work with Carlos Santana. I also read his auto-biography last year. He's also had an amazing life and I admire his commitment to his foundation and his spiritual life. Third I love Billy Gibbons. I have ZZ Top's latest release FUTURA in my car CD player. I just listen to it over and over. I love that band! Page49
Tomiko: What is one message you would like to give other artists that are inspiredto get into the entertainment industry? Liz: Educate yourself! Learn your craft and keep learning. I'm always taking lessons and classes, always practicing, always keeping myself in shape. You have to be ready because you never know who's watching you or when your break will happen so treat yourself like an athlete and keep training. • Living the life of an entertainer is hard. You spend a lot of time traveling, away from your family and doing work that's not the show. The show is only a small fraction of the time in your life as an entertainer. Learn to take care of yourself, how to stay healthy and sharp. Just because you PLAY the Blues don't mean you have to LIVE the Blues! • Learn to network! They say it's not what you know it's WHO you know. That's really true but if you can remember LIM
people's names, keep in touch with people and treat people with respect it will really help you. • Have good manners! People remember if you're rude or if you talk down to them. People don't remember what you say they remember how you made them feel. Humility and gratitude are always appreciated. Tomiko: Which entertainer do you admire the most and why? Liz: Tina Turner! I first saw her on TV with Ike Turner Review when I was a child. She blew my mind! More than any other performer, I love her voice, her energy, her style both musical and fashion. I read her book, I saw her movie, I own probably 12 of her LP's and even more CD's, even cassette tapes! I've seen her perform live, watched her videos, I'm just hooked. Her story is so inspiring, the way she created and recreated herself, the way she revealed her truth and her salvation through spirit. Have you Page50
my concussion, I spent a lot of time listening to the radio. I discovered WDCB, which plays Jazz, Blues and other and I do a live stream show from my Facebook Page every Thursday. Tomiko: Do you have any upcoming events? Liz: Every Thursday @ 7PM CST, I do a Happy Hour Blues Party Live Stream from my Facebook page. For about an hour I'm coming to your living room to sing and play my guitar. I treat it like a gig, getting my outfit and game face on, but it's more intimate because it's just me talking/performing just for you! We always have a "Cocktail of the Week" and I change the set list every week to keep it fresh. I'm not really booking anything public for the time being, although I'm getting offers for private parties and events, I'm very selective. heard Tina singing in Sanskrit? It's so powerful. She is my hero. Tomiko: What is the best advice been given to you? Liz: I did 4 albums for Michael Frank, the president of Earwig Music Company. He told me always record my original tunes because, as an artist, publishing is a good source of income. You only make publishing income from songs you've written, so only one of the songs on the 8 albums I've made over my career is a cover tune. I get a small check for my publishing royalties every month. If you get a hit record it can buy you a house! Or if someone else cuts one of my songs they have to license it and I get paid for that too. Tomiko: What’s next for you? Liz: I'm already working on my next release. I'm a prolific songwriter and I always produce more songs than I can use. So this new release is actually made up of songs I wrote over the last decade that didn't fit with the record I was working on at the time. I love all types of music besides the Chicago Blues I'm known for. I'm especially into classic Memphis Soul and when I the accident that caused LIM
Tomiko's Review: Liz Mandeville has a fun & unique style. From the Roots to the Fruits she strives to do everything from excellence and it shows. I can tell that she always give her audience and listeners over 110% in every show and performance. I personally appreciate that in an artist. That's why my rating for Liz Mandeville is a high 5. I'm extremely impressed by Liz's many talents & showmanship. She's a great artist and definitely embodies the spirit of the Blues. Long Live The Blues !!!
Photo Credits: Anna Sutton, Jenifer Noble.
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About the Reviewer This column is contributed by Tomiko Dixon who is the granddaughter of the Great Willie Dixon and also the youngest inductee to the Blues Hall of Fame and an Ambassador of Blues. Lazie Indie Magazine is glad and honored to join her cause to keep the spirit of Blues alive.
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Keshet from Australia, has produced music and performed in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and of course Australia. Having been a founding member of a few bands and a much in demand session guitarist for others, he embarked on a journey as a solo artist, refusing to be tied down by a single music genre. His art is also represented in the videos that accompany his songs, which he directs himself. Innovative use of vertical screens, stop motion animation, 360 degree captures and more, sets his work apart from most of his peers. Keshet is also renowned for his ability to rearrange songs and turn them over their heads. His knack for creating original covers has resulted in hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. Jay from Lazie Indie Magazine spoke to this incredible musician about his musical journey and ideas that inspire a lot of fans and musicians who follow him... LIM
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Jay: Hi Keshet, welcome to Lazie Indie Magazine! Keshet: Hey Jay, thank you so much for having me! Jay: You have had a great career in as a creator, performer and producer of music cutting across genres and sharing the stage with many artists. When you look back, how do you feel was your journey so far? Keshet: My journey has not been without peril, but that is part of the fun, isn't it? The way I see it, even a bad day in the art industry, is better than a good day doing something I am not passionate about. Jay: Who or what were your musical influences and how did you arrive at this genre you play? Is it the demand of being a session artist which eventually helped you to create music with so much versatility? Keshet: I think you hit the nail on the head. I grew up a rocker through and through.
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But it was session work that opened me to Funk, Soul, Reggae, Hip-Hop, World Music and more. Classic Rock and Grunge were my main influences, but I would say that nowadays I feel more comfortable *not* playing Rock. Isn't that funny? For the style we created at The Hollow Cause, I was seeking a way to combine Western Classical Orchestral Music with traditional Middle Eastern Music. It was definitely a stretch, even for me. I feel I have grown a lot from the process. Jay: How do you go about writing your own songs? In the case of collaborations who writes the songs? And how does it crystalize into a final composition. Keshet: Well it changes. I used to stumble on cool sounding guitar riffs and/or grooves and then find a collaborator to write lyrics and vocal melody and together we would arrange the song. Later on, when I opened up to the notion of writing everything myself it would come a lot of times from lyrical ideas and then I would try
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and find music to express them. But when I write ambitious musicals, it has to come together. I pretty much sit and wait until my mind comes up with a "hook" - a strong lyrical and melodic statement. Once I have that I can keep writing the rest of the lyrics around it as well as the rest of the music. Jay: How do you record and produce your music? Keshet: I have a humble home studio setup. Humble is an understatement haha, the rooms are not acoustically treated in any way. I have one cheap dynamic and a couple of condenser mics. But through my years working at top studios I learned that you can make anything sound good if you know how to mix. So, we get a lot of mileage out of my home setup. It is more the flexibility that I can record at any time and not worry about time or money that makes it worth it, even if it is a hell of a lot more work in mixing to polish everything. In terms of producing my process is as this: I arrange everything in advance, all the instruments and all the vocal lines. Then I record guitar to a click, which is very uninspiring as I have to imagine the rest of the music while recording. Even the guitar solos tend to be recorded before there is any other instrument to feed off. Then we would record the rest of the instruments and eventually do a vocal session. Jay: Your covers of popular music too is unique. How do you bring about a whole new approach in an already popular composition without totally hurting the feel of the original but sound totally different? Keshet: You know, I think this was my original gift. Long before I got into music, as a kid, I would hear songs on the radio and have the audacity to say: "that would sound wicked with a violin line", and stuff like that. I just can see different ways a song can be "translated" to. So, I love putting that skill to use and exploring those ideas.
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"I definitely think writing first and foremost, it is the most enticing of feelings. You get to create something from nothing. It never gets dull".
Sometimes it is about flipping the song - a ballad turned hard rock, a rap song turned ballad. Sometimes it is about genre fusion - how will this funk song sound on a middle eastern groove? My most recent cover was a simple idea what will happen if we take the phenomenal song Wicked Game which sits on 4/4 meter and play it like a waltz on 3/4 meter. The idea is always to honour the song and try to add something to it, instead of just mimicking it. Jay: Where do we find your music on the internet? Which is your latest release? Keshet: I am most active on Facebook, but can be found on YouTube and Instagram and streaming platforms. Search Keshet and you will find me. My latest release is a single The World Belongs To Me, from a new opera I panned entitled The Hollow Cause. LIM
Jay: What gives you the kick, writing, producing or playing live and why? Keshet: I definitely think writing first and foremost, it is the most enticing of feelings. You get to create something from nothing. It never gets dull. I LOVE producing, but I hate recording, I am always too critical of myself. Playing live is probably my 2nd favourite - especially originals. The energy from the crowd is like a drug, and it is amazing how much your playing changes when you "get into the zone". Jay: How do you cope with the lockdown on live music? Is the internet-based performance good enough to generate a livelihood for musicians? Keshet: I absolutely detest internet based performances. What's the point? If you can't get the energy from the audience it is just not worth it. I prefer to go to the Page57
"Diversify your talents. Don't be "just a musician". You don't need to acquire all skills, but the more you can get - the more you'll be in demand, and it will help your own career tremendously".
studio and write/record more things. So I didn't jump on that bandwagon. However, thankfully I live in probably the safest place on earth in terms of Covid-19 - Perth. We had very little restrictions compare to the rest of the world and very short lockdown times. I actually ended up gigging more than ever last year. How weird is that? Jay: Being a successful musician/band yourself, what would you tell an upcoming musician to keep in mind to launch a successful career in music? Keshet: Diversify your talents. Don't be "just a musician". You don't need to acquire all skills, but the more you can get - the more you'll be in demand, and it will help your own career tremendously. By skills/talents I mean: Learn more instruments or to sing.If that's not your thing - learn to arrange, become a music director or producer. More technical? LIM
Learn sound engineering. More visual? Learn graphic design and/or video production. You can be a phenomenal guitarist, but think of it this way: Who do you think a band will choose: An amazing guitarist? Or a guitarist that can also create the flyers and videos for the band, record and mix them himself and has the producing oversight to help everyone in the band become better? ;) - Thank you Special thanks to: Victoria Moro of PA74 Italy for arranging the interview.
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The Word66 is a Christian Rock Band bringing to you it's catchy melodies, thought provoking lyrics and overall great catchy music. Founding member Steve Scott spoke to Lazie Indie Magazine about how the band came into being and their influences. The Word 66 impresses the listeners with very wellcrafted songs and each song has it's own heartfelt message that fellow brothers and sisters will relate to with a deep understanding and will be moved to sing along. The band is both excited and honored to share with the listeners what God has allowed them to create to glorify his name. Let us check out more about them...
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"I had put my axe down for many years and was really unsure if I was going to continue in the music industry. After an incident happened in my life, I believe that God called me back to fulfill my purpose in life. To spread his word through the music".
LIM: Hi Steve, welcome to Lazie Indie Magazine, great to have you speaking to our readers. You have had a great in music. When you look back, how do you feel was your journey so far both as a musician and as a band? Steve: Man, lots of ups and downs, good times and not so good times. It's such a tough industry to begin with. There is nothing like the love you get from your fans and watching them smiling, rocking out and singing your music, it's amazing. The Word66 has a totally different purpose to fulfill and we are really excited to see where the Lord takes us. LIM: Who/what were your musical influences and how did you arrive at this genre you play? Steve: I had put my axe down for many years and was really unsure if I was going to continue in the music industry. After an incident happened in my life, I believe LIM
that God called me back to fulfill my purpose in life. To spread his word through the music. Influences vary from Sabbath, Priest, Zeppelin, Shinedown, Godsmack, & Disciple. My guitar favs are Satriani, Vai, Petrucci, Schenker, & Moore to name a few. LIM: How do you go about writing your songs? In your band who writes the songs? Steve: I guess you can say I write all the music and lyrics. I usually have a pretty good vision on how it goes and we all do some fine tuning. I'm usually messing around and a riff will just come out of the blue. That's when you grab the cell phone to make sure you won't forget it. Sometimes the lyrics flow at the same time. This music take a bit more thought as I enjoy adding scripture when I can. LIM: How do you produce your music? Steve: I think a lot is pretty standard. Get Page61
the rhythm section down as that is the foundation of every song. Usually do a scratch guitar track along with it. Lay down the rhythm guitar and solos and then all of the vocal parts. We kind of mixed the new EP from a bit of a Classic Rock perspective. It's important to hear all of the instruments. We are talking about doing some remixes with a heavier sound. LIM: Where do we find your music on the internet? Which is your latest release? Steve: Our new EP is called "On the way to the promise land". It's available on most of the platforms. Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Deezer, Pandora, Bandcamp, etc. and of course, we are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and a bunch of other music sites. LIM: What gives you the kick, writing, producing or playing live and why? Steve: That's a tough one. All of the above. When you are writing the music the creativity takes over and takes you to a destination you had no idea you were headed too. When in the studio producing, you're watching your vision actually come to life and all kinds of spontaneous things can happen. Then playing live is the culmination of the other two and you see, feel and vibe on how it makes your fans feel. LIM: How do you overcome the lockdown on live music and is the internet-based performance good enough to generate a livelihood for musicians? Steve: It's called collecting unemployment. LOL. We were actually heading into the studio when it was announced. We were in limbo for a while until things started to lighten up a bit. Internet performances can be a challenge. LIM: Your immediate future plans? Steve: We are going to head back to the studio to record some more tracks and probably add a remix or 2 to the CD. Most likely the title track "On the way to the promise land" as it has opened up a lot of doors for us. We also should be out and about playing some concerts and festivals.
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LIM: Being a successful musician/band yourself, what would you tell an upcoming musician to keep in mind to launch a successful career in music? Steve: It's a really tough business to say the least. Make sure you really have what it takes to get to that level of success. Always work on your craft. As good as you are, you can be better. Practice, keep creating and be persistent. I would spend 8-10 hours a day researching and promoting the music and making connections. And if you really want to be taken seriously, spend some cash to make a professional sounding demo that's radio quality. - Thank you
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Colm Gavin is a 28 year old singer-songwriter from Dublin, Ireland. He is currently signed to BEO Records home to The First Lady of Celtic Music Moya Brennan. Colm's first two solo releases (Your Endless Slumber/A Voice For The Urban Darlings) both reached number 1 in the Irish Charts at the time of their release singles from his debut album have reached the top ten in notable Indie charts in Norway, Australia, USA, Canada & Japan. Jay from Lazie Indie Magazine spoke to this amazing talent to learn more about his career so far, how he makes his soul stirring music and also to know a bit more about his plans for the immediate future...
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Jay: Hi Colm, you have a promising career in music. How do you feel was your journey so far as a musician? Colm: I’ve been very fortunate, I’ve managed to establish a reasonably agreeable life for myself arranging unusual sounds in an order that’s pleasing to the ear (or at the very least, to the ears of some). Jay: Who/what were your musical influences and how did you arrive at this genre you play? Colm: I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful teacher in the form of Peter Stanton, who is sadly no longer with us. In my early teens he introduced me to a number of avant garde composers (Stravinsky, Harry Partch, John Cage) and that radically changed my perception of what contemporary music could or should sound like. Jay: How do you go about writing your songs? Colm: I try to employ a 6 hour a day, 4 day a week approach of extensive collaboration and individual composition with regards my own material, my collaborative works and songs that I am assigned to write, be they for commercial use or earmarked for another artist to record Jay: How do you record and produce your music? Colm: My longest standing in-studio collaborator is without doubt, Adam Walsh. In my humble opinion, he’s one of the finest musicians to come out of Ireland in the last 100 years, his home recording facility “The Cabin” has already become the stuff of Irish music folklore. Jay: Where do we find your music on the internet? Which is your latest release? Colm: My forthcoming EP “The 1992 Tapes” will be released this summer on all major download/streaming platforms. The 1992 Tapes boasts a sentimental offering of contemporary Jazz inspired ballads, tales of love affairs in orbit, fictitious New York neighbourhood dalliances, Satchmo incantations, postponed Peruvian pilgrimages & dewyeyed star gazing, all coming together to LIM
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"Write and perform what appeals to you, do it well enough and maybe some like minded cherubs with discerning ears will pick up on what you’re doing and spread the good word. Ignore fads they’re dead before they’re born. Don’t kick a man when he’s down, he might just get up".
serve up a smattering of delicious modal interchange & harmonic charm. Jay: What gives you the kick, writing, producing or playing live and why? Colm: I get a “kick” out of all aspects of the enterprise, but there’s a particular aroma to live performance that you just don’t find in all of the other mechanisms. If the people listening are enjoying it, then so am I. Jay: How do you overcome the lockdown on live music and is the internet-based performance good enough to generate a livelihood for musicians? Colm: I’ve accumulated a number of creatively beneficial habits over the space of the lockdown that I perhaps, otherwise, would not have. I’ve given almost 100 virtual concerts since the beginning of lockdown, collaborated extensively with Charlie McGettigan (to date we’ve written almost 60 songs together) and I’ve LIM
recorded and released two full length EPs of new, original material. So, I’ve been a busy beaver. Jay: What are your immediate future plans? Colm: I have an extensive amount of promotional work to do over the next two months for The 1992 Tapes. I’ve also recorded a solo piano performance in The Bord Gais Energy Theatre which will be televised in July. - Thank you.
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Vin Sinners is a UAE-based rock band that was started in 2009 in by Vin Nair a.k.a Big Daddy Vin. The band released their album An Element of Surprise in 2011, which reached the top of the radioandmusic.com charts. The band signed to Universal Music India in February 2014. After a brief hiatus and a series of changes in the lineup, Vin Sinners regrouped in 2017. Vin Nair along with the new band consisting of Michael Schiller on lead guitars, DJ Praful (ex-Millennium) on bass guitars, Josh on rhythm guitars and keyboards and Thomas Mielenz on drums and percussion worked on their new album called VS III, an independent release. Darshan Shankar aka Dats spoke to Vin Nair to learn more about their story so far and their progress ever since they regrouped and their greatest hits album "A Decade of Sins" which is due for release in Dec 2021. LIM
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Dats: Hi Vin, it is great speaking to you. For the benefit of our readers, kindly introduce yourself and your band? Vin: My name is Vin and I am the front man and founder of the UAE based rock band, Vin Sinners. Dats: Since how long have you been into music, and how did you come into music? Vin: I began my musical career back in a church choir when I was 8 years old and then went on to form a band in college back in 1991. The band was essentially a covers only gig and we were called Acanthus. It lasted for 3 years before I pursued my career in advertising and music took a back seat. In 2010, I decided to get back into music and formed Vin Sinners the following year. It was like a massive high that I just refused to let go of. What started off as a solo project went on to become a band and we began working on our 1st record while performing in local clubs in the UAE. We released our first record called 'An Element of Surprise' in Dec 9, 2011. What followed was a series of gigs and a tour of India in Feb 2013 which caught the attention of Universal Music. Later that year, we became the FIRST Rock Band in the Middle East to be signed to a major record label on a 3 year multi album contract. Work had already begun on our 2nd record and on April 5, 2014, A Mighty Black Box was released under the Universal label. What followed was a slew of gigs and local performances. Due to a variety of reasons, the band took a hiatus between 2016 and 2018 while I continued to work with individuals on a proposed 3rd record. On April 22, 2020, VS III was released. 2021 is our 10 Year Anniversary Year, and we are now working on a Special Edition record that will be released on Dec 9, 2021 and will be called 'A Decade of Sin'. Dats: Who were your musical influences? Vin: My primary influences are Led Zeppelin, Guns n' Roses, Rammstein, Pink Floyd, Motley Crue, The Doors, Deep Purple to name a few. Dats: How do you go about writing your songs ...incase of your band, who writes LIM
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the songs and how? Vin: This has been a mixed exercise. The first album was pretty much a solo exercise. The 2nd record was a true band effort and while I write all the lyrics, the music was a collection of ideas from the then band members. The 3rd album was a very, very complex exercise as it comprised of elements from former members, current members and piecing it all together was a mammoth exercise, but it was incredible fun. As a band, today, I do the lyrics and the musical inputs come from the rest of the band AND myself. Dats: How do you record and produce the songs? Vin: Laughing! If I were to tell you, I record musical ideas on WhatsApp and send it to my band mates and they look to place them on guitars or keyboards, would you believe that? Well, we do that. I have 2 of my band mates in 2 different countries. Our lead guitarist sits in Germany while my bassist is based in Bangalore. The drummer, the other guitarist/keyboardist and I are based here in Dubai so putting all of this together is a crazy exercise. We piece together a structure to the song after which it goes to the drummer who puts in his ideas and LIM
records a scratch of the direction he is going with. The 3 of us here in Dubai get together and play the pieces of the song and see if it all fits well. Each one then sends their final pieces to the producer while I go to the studio and record my vocals over there. Once that is done, the producer and I sit together and put it all together and we go from demo to the next till we are in a position to freeze on the final product. Doing this across 3 time zones and with one member who speaks very little English is hilarious, but we all love, what we do. I use Google Translate to communicate with my lead guitarist. It's quite crazy and only if you were in it, would you understand how mad it really is! Haha! Dats: In your opinion has the internet helped your music pursuit and other independent artists? Vin: Absolutely. Independent artists would never find a way to get heard by people across the world. Today, not only do we have band mates in 3 separate locations, but we have fans from Europe and South America; something we could never have dreamed of if there was no Internet. Dats: What are you plans for year 2021 and the immediate future? Vin: 'The Decade of Sin' Compilation is going to be the UAE's first Greatest Hits release by a rock band here. It will contain 12 of our older songs with a few variations in there and 6 new songs and is quite a large project. The new songs are currently 'Work in Progress' at different stages of completion. We have a busy few months ahead of us to get this project done and over with. Should be fun. Dats: What gives you the kick? Writing, recording or playing live and why ? Vin: I love it all. Writing, recording and post production and seeing a project completed is a very different sort of high. Performing requires a lot of rehearsals and is a lot more fun when you have a variety of audiences. I used to like the live gigs a lot a few years ago but of late, I am more keen on creating quality material. Don't get me wrong. When the Page71
opportunity does come and when the shows open up, I will definitely be up to taking the band back to gigs again. Dats: Where can we get your music on the net? Vin: All of our records are available on Spotify, Amazon, Deezer, Apple Music and other platforms. All our music videos are on our official YouTube channel and I am personally very active on Twitter with the handle @vinsinners Dats: What would you suggest to an aspiring independent artist? Vin: Do it because you love doing it. Look to create an original stamp on your music. Try new things. Work on collaborations. Be open to ideas. Get your work out there and believe in the music you put out. Do not think about the fame, the big shows, the performances but focus on doing great work with a good bunch of people who believe in it too and you will see the results. And when things look like they LIM
are crumbling, take a break but KEEP AT IT. Never, Ever, Give up on your dream of creating your legacy, whatever that legacy might be and does not always need to be about performing in front of 30,000 people. - Thank you
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About the columnist Darshan Shankar is a popular singer and has been the front man for many top acts such as the legendary Indian Band 13 Ad . He runs a very successful event company in the Middle East. Darshan has also been a very active promoter of Independent Music and has conducted many festivals and other events promoting Independent Rock Bands in India and Middle East. Lazie Indie Magazine thanks Darshan for his column DATs Column which will from now on, introduce great musicians from across Middle East to LIM readers.
Photo credits: Vin Nair
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Bongo Boy Records is a FULL STACK MUSIC COMPANY for the Independent artist since 2010. With a USA office outside of New York City and a Canadian office. Bongo Boy has released, promoted and supported music by artists like The Yardbirds, Santana, Mark Lindsay, Iggy Pop, The Dead Daisies, Danko Jones, Little Steve Van Zandt, Jesse Colin Young and many others. With operations in Hong Kong China, London, Canada and USA; Bongo Boy Music Group & Bongo Boy Records offers more distributions and promotions to the Independent Artists worldwide. This is one company which an Independent Artist can approach with full confidence to promote his music. Lazie Indie Magazine spoke to Monique Grimme (Executive Director) and Annemarie Picerno (Nashville Location for Bongo Boy Records and TV) ... Let us know more... LIM
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LIM Speaks to MONIQUE GRIMME and ANNEMARIE PICERNO of BONGO BOY RECORDS. LIM: How did Bongo Boy Records come into being and what was the aim of doing so? Monique: Bongo Boy Records began in 2010 with myself and Gar Francis wanting to help Independent Artists have their music heard on radio, television, with promotion that was professional and affordable. We have a USA office outside of New York City and a Canadian office outside of London, Ontario Canada as well as a Hong Kong office in China, Asia. We have artists that are on our label that can get assistance from artists themself, Frank Trousdale in Canada and Annemarie Picerno in Nashville. They believe in what we do and introduce us to new talents. We have released, promoted and supported music by artists like The Yardbirds, Mark Lindsay (Paul Revere & The Raiders) Iggy Pop, Joe Bonamassa, The Dead Daisies, The Doughboys, The Sloths, Danko Jones, Little Steve Van Zandt, The Smithereens, Santana, Jesse Colin Young, Stephen Bishop and many others. With operations in Hong Kong, China, London, Canada and USA; Bongo Boy Music Group & Bongo Boy Records offers more distributions and promotions to the Independent Artist worldwide along with expanding to Grammy® For Your Consideration promotions and our famous Email blasts that have delivered positive results many times. LIM: What kind (mainly genre) of music do you usually promote? Monique: We offer single and album distribution for all genres, as well as compilation albums by genre to assist Independent Artists from just starting out, to Established Artists. We also have fun seasonal albums and encourage creativity and quality in shaping promotion that suits the needs of each particular artist across social media, radio, television, music reviews and email promotions.
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LIM: As an Independent Artist how does one get noticed by your talent managers and if someone wants to submit music to you how do they contact you? Annemarie: Visit https://bongoboyrecords.com/ to see all we offer: Distribution, music video, tv show, radio airplay, synch licensing opportunities, press releases, email blasts, and performance opportunities. To submit, an artist may email submit@bongoboyrecords.com their song mp3 or video YouTube link and we will respond with what promotions may suit their individual need. Be sure to read the website which lists current albums we are filling as well as discounted specials bundles. LIM: What would you look forward to, in an artist? What do you look for in particular in the demos? Monique: Music must be radio ready and in mp3 and wav format for distribution. For our music television show, a file of the mp4 video in widescreen format can be sent via wetransfer.com for the actual show. YouTube link is accepted on the inquiry for consideration. We do ask for
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professional photos, bio and social media links to assist in the promotional set up across social media and email promotions. Artists should have their music registered with their songwriter pro (BMI, ASCAP,) and copy written. Most of all, the songs should be original and of good quality. DIY Sponsorship applies when accepted. LIM: How do you help the artist as a label to reach the world of listeners? Could you elaborate on that aspect? Annemarie: Along with distribution to music stores, Bongo Boy Records has a subscriber list of radio stations as well as promotions across social media. We also have Bongo Boy TV a growing syndicated Television Show aired to 72 terrestrial television channels in the USA and our own Bongo Boy iSpin Radio Station. All releases not only get airplay on our station, but are sent to genre specific radio stations in our Radio Campaign email blasts, as well as receiving press and music reviews in blogs and publications. As an artist myself, I can attest that Monique and Bongo Boy Records has definitely helped me and many artists! LIM: Post-COVID lockdowns live music is taking a hit. What do you foresee in the music industry? Do you expect the live music scene to return in full flow or is it going to be reset with new realities? Annemarie: The lockdown proved to be challenging, but as Independent Artists are perseverant and self-starters, many turned to television, live streaming and promotional video concerts to keep performing and engage their fans. Bongo Boy Records has assisted with these live stream promotions and plans to continue to find innovative ways to help promote their music and be heard. LIM: How can a label like you be of help to talented upcoming artists in a period as stressful as this? Do you plan anything special for the bands you sign up to overcome the stress?
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Monique: We are here to help you succeed! Bongo Boy's slogan: "You're Success Is Our Business" LIM: Where do you see Bongo Boy Records going from here? Monique: We are pleased to be recognized in Rolling Stone Magazine, Billboard and other news as a reputable and innovative Independent Label. From Independent Artists just beginning, to Grammy® award winning artists, there is something for everyone here at Bongo Boy Records. We are willing to go the extra mile as well as try new things as a label in this ever-changing music landscape.
Monique: I think we are getting back in full force and artists are beginning to book events and live tours. Many produced and recorded new music and put out even more so during the lockdown. Bongo Boy Records has our radio and tv 10th anniversary special with a music video on USA Television which includes 72+ Terrestrial TV Channels in the USA. The song is also included on physical cd and digital album by various artists, plus receives at least 3 Independent Music Reviews, Press Release, Social Media Marketing, eMail Blasts, and featured spot-on Bongo Boy's Radio Station. We can also promote tour and concert dates so be sure to contact us with your needs! Details: http://bongoboytv.com/ LIM: As a veteran in this field spotlighting many artists over the years, what would you give as advice to upcoming musicians? Annemarie: Be professional, have good quality music and be willing to explore new opportunities. Be aware of new music trends, read industry news and share with us your ideas.
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https://www.facebook.com/ MoniqueGrimme https://bongoboyrecords.com/ http://bongoboytv.com/ Email submit@bongoboyrecords.com
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