Young Guns Music Magazine (July 2015 Edition)

YOUNG GUNS MUSIC MAGAZINE July 2015

Ozzy Alejo San Antonio, Tx

Featured Artists Sierra Lynn Brown San Antonio, Tx Celeste Munoz San Antonio, Tx

Featured Model Danielle Nicole Medaryville, In

In the loop with 210 Local Media

IINSIDE

THIS ISSUE

Ozzy Alejo San Antonio, Tx P.7

Sierra Lynn Brown San Antonio, Tx P.11

Celeste Munoz San Antonio, Tx P.15

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Special Features In the loop with 210 Local Media Mario Zamarron P.18

FEATURED MODEL Danielle Nicole P.21

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OUR SENIOR EDITOR

ELORA Every month our email gets filled with lots of questions about how to submit info to be considered for publication in our magazine. We thought we'd answer the top three questions that were asked this month.

1. Does Young Guns only feature "young" artist?

A: The answer is no. Although our publication focuses on up and coming new artists, there are no age limits. We are committed to supporting all genres of music and all ages of artist.

2. How do I submit my info and what do you look for?

A: We ask that you submit your or your band's bio via email to: info@younggunsmusicmagazine.com. Within the bio we'd like you to include as much information about your group or yourself as possible. For example, when you first began to perform? How old were you? Who or what inspired you?

How did you come up with the name of your band? ...etc.

The more info you provide us the better.

3. What about pictures, what do you want or look for?

A: Pictures must be high quality. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Pictures are important. Make sure they represent you and your music.

Hope this helps and hope to hear from you!

SUPPORT LOCAL MUISC

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80's Music for San Antonio and beyond; Your New Vice The Breakfast Club

with Jay Tope and Kris Kidd

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Ozzy Alejo

Ozzy Alejo Performing since he was 13 years old, anyone who has had the opportunity to see and hear Ozzy Alejo rocking on stage with some rhythmic cords on his bass has left with a new found respect for the sounds bass. Alejo’s stage presence, talent and connection to the audience is just simply amazing.

Early in his career he was introduced to heavy metal through a close family member and his passion for the genre was forged. Performing in Huntington Park California with his first band Force of Genocide he went on to gain great popularity and experience in the Los Angeles music scene where he and his band gained a sizeable following and developed a unique brand of Power Thrash Mental.

Influenced by such great metal bassists such as Cliff Burton of Metallica, Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, and Billy Sheehan of Mr. Big, the influences can be heard in Alejo’s performances. In addition, Ozzy was fortunate enough to have received private instruction from Mike Guerrero AKA The Tapping Ninja, former student of Jennifer Batten and “Craig Goldy” Dio. In 2007 Ozzy moved to San Antonio, Texas and took advantage of the opportunity to network and gig in the San Antonio music scene.

In November of 2013, Ozzy competed in and won the Sam Ash Best in Shred Competition and was given the opportunity to perform a solo before the Steve Vai show at the House of Blues in Houston, Texas. As if that was not impressive enough, he went on to compete and win the annual the annual Guitar Wars Competition four consecutive times.

What we find truly amazing about Alejo is his popularity as a bassist. Not to take anything away from the talents of any bassist, It just seems to always be the case that concert goers more often than not talk about the performance of a lead singer, lead guitarist or drummer but music fans seem to never mention the artist performing on the bass but when Alejo performs; the conversation quickly changes.

Now 28, Ozzy currently plays bass and lends his vocals the power house trio Æternal Requiem and Seventh Son. In addition, as a true professional he also dedicates time expanding his education in areas of music business and recording engineering. He also spends his time teaching other aspiring young musicians at Alamo Music Summer Camp which we believe says a lot about this great musician.

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Whenever YGMM covers an artist, we do our best to research the artists and discover new things about them that perhaps their fans may not know of. More often than not, we find interesting tidbits about them that we believe separates them for their fellow musicians. We came across a recent post by Alejo on his Facebook page that just may explain why Alejo’s star continues to rise in his music.

“I have a sense that for some reason those who have seen me in the music scene…have a certain expectation of me to be like most other metal musicians; just all about music.

I have encountered a few people and have seen their reaction to the other activities I'm into.

Like business, spirituality, personal development etc... And have noticed their disengagement after realizing that I am not just always talking about music. I am into inspirational quotes and books; things that make you go beyond just art and music.

Different forms of communication and understanding. I really enjoy all this stuff. I feel that my life is much more fulfilling when you are redefining what an artist is and taking that to the next level.

I will be me. There will be some that like it and some that don't; but I will definitely not be the same or what people expect me to be”.

Keep Rocking Ozzy

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Young Guns Music Magazine is committed to supporting community organizations that help foster the learning of music and the arts to our young. We pledge to do all we can to help such organizations with our time, talent and financial support.

Daily, many children are neglected, left behind, and face immense danger, it goes unseen and unknown to many of us. On school days, parents are at work, between the hours of 3:00 and 6:00pm. These are peak hours for teens and children to fall into the deadly trap of peer pressure, bullying, crime, drugs, gangs, teen pregnancies, child abuse, neglect and the most terrifying of all, child abduction.

Inspire a Child USA is a non-profit organization in San Antonio, Texas that raises funds to establish a foundation for after school programs, internet resources and summer camps to schools and community organizations at no cost. Its goal is to help reduce, if not, eliminate these atrocities by inspiring the children to do great things through arts training.

Programs are designed to help develop a basic creative arts and arts technology curriculum with variants customized to different age groups, skill levels and cultures.

Find out more by visiting: http://www.InspireAChildUSA.com

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SIERRA LYNN BROWN San Antonio, Tx

Singer-Songwriter-Guitarist Sierra Lynn Brown was born in Rockville Connecticut June 28, 1992. Her father who was in the army brought the family to San Antonio, Texas when Sierra turned 6 where they decided to stay for good.

Sierra has been singing since she was a little girl. Her family has always been her biggest support system; they made music an important part of everyday life. Growing up she was exposed every genre of music and her mom heard her singing in the car one day, thought it was pretty amazing, and enrolled her into choir and private vocal lessons. Sierra was in choir all throughout high school and continued taking vocal lessons with a private instructor.

Sierra’s first solo performance was at her high school’s talent show; there were over 500 people in the audience. Sierra commented on how she felt during and after the experience,” I was very nervous, but very excited to show everyone how much hard work I had put into my singing over the years.” Since then Sierra Lynn has been seizing every opportunity to get on stage. She also writes her own music and has picked up guitar to add to her voice.

Sierra Lynn has been performing at the rodeo, fiesta, oyster bake and other events annually for 4 years now. In 2013 she auditioned for ‘The Voice’ and had several callbacks. Just last year she competed in KWC ‘Karaoke World Championships’ where she went to regionals, then state, and then to the nationals where she won 6th in the nation.

Sierra Lynn’s music style has been compared to Adele, Amy Winehouse, Ellie Goulding and Stevie Nicks; but has always been referred to as a very unique sound.

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Currently Sierra Lynn is a singer-songwriter-guitarist, paramedic, vocal instructor and a full time mom to a handsome 5-year-old boy, Josiah. She is always writing and learning new music. Sierra is also looking to start a band and continue to perform at more and more venues.

Sierra’s influences are Michael Jackson, Etta James, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey and Haley Williams. Sierra said, “Every singer has their own strengths, weaknesses and style, I loved listening to all of them and discovering my own talent. I can’t wait for the day I can be up on that big stage sharing my music with many and knowing it may have helped or made their day a little easier.”

Sierra Lynn will be performing at Market Square July 5th for the Freedom Festival. Other venues Sierra plays at are 502, Silo and more to come!

SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC

YOUNG GUNS MUSIC MAGAZINE

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May 26th, 2015 – ADLER the band led by former Guns N Roses drummer Steven Adler is gearing up for a handful of select summer shows starting in June. The upcoming tour dates will be the band's first live performances in over two years, and the band's first ever visit to South America ADLER’S debut album “Back From The Dead” was released at the end of 2012 via New Ocean Media. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Jeff Pilson (FOREIGNER, DOKKEN) and mixed by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STONE SOUR, THEORY OF A DEAD MAN), the CD consists of 11 tracks, ranging from adrenaline-pumping rockers ("Back From The Dead", "Own Worst Enemy", "Another Version Of The Truth") to arena-rock anthems ("Good To Be Bad", "Blown Away") to powerful, heartfelt ballads ("Waterfall", "Just Don't Ask"). The album features guest appearances by Adler's former GUNS N' ROSES bandmate Slash and ROB ZOMBIE/ex-MARILYN MANSON guitarist John 5.

ADLER is comprised of Steven Adler, frontman Jacob Bunton (LYNAM, MARS ELECTRIC), guitarist Lonny Paul (ADLER’S APPETITE), and bassist Johnny Martin (CHELSEA SMILES).

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Celeste Munoz

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We often say that in Texas you don’t have to go very far to find some great music talent. Such is the case with San Antonio native Celeste Munoz who performs regularly with her band, Celeste ’al Descent, throughout the San Antonio and surrounding area music scene.

As many of our readers know, we like to explore where such successful artists got their start in music and what or who played a great influence in their music. If you asked Celeste you would find that she is quick to tell you that her passion for music was greatly influenced by her family. She says that she comes from a family of musicians and singers. From her great grandmother, grandmother, and aunts and uncles; music and singing have always played a strong role in her family’s life and it was from that foundation that her own passion for music was born.

Her love for singing began at a very young age, and it became very apparent to those around her that she possessed a special talent. One of our favorite questions to ask artists is: Where was was the first place they performed? Celeste recalls her first performances being in her very own home on her family’s fireplace mantel where she would perform songs for family and friends. Her repertoire consisted of a number of songs by Selena, as well as, other popular tunes such as “My Heart Will Go On” from the movie Titanic. She would continue to perform and develop her craft on her very own private stage until she out grew it. “I became too tall and would hit her head on the top”.

Because of her passion for singing, her mother searched for schools and organizations that would help Celeste in pursuing her dream. At the age of ten, her parents enrolled her into a local non-profit organization called Network for Young Artists (NYA) whose mission was to help develop and encourage young artists. It was there that she continued to develop her own unique sound and gain some valuable stage experience. It wasn’t long before she had the opportunity to perform at NYA sponsored events throughout the city of San Antonio . She tells YGMM that she initially began performing with music tracks but when she was eleven, her uncle who performed with his own rock band, invited her to perform on stage with his band. Celeste recalls that moment as “an amazing experience” and she came to realize that having a band of her own was something she really wanted.

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In 2010, she formed her own band Celeste ‘al Descent and with the help of NYA her band performed their first show at Oyster Bake in April of the same year. She recalls one of her favorite rock bands was a group called Flyleaf.

She began listening to their music and admired the inspirational lyrics, unique vocals and overall great sound of the group. Flyleaf' inspired her to use her faith in writing music and work on sending a positive message to listeners. “Not preaching, nor telling someone what they should and should not do, but rather uplift those in need of encouragement, and direction.” However as she developed her own music she says she began to feel discouraged in the process. “People left and right would make comments like: That’s not what people want to hear. You shouldn’t bring your faith into your writing. That isn’t marketable.” She also recalls that some would try to steer her music in a different directions.

Celeste said that she struggled in finding a direction for her music. “The faith I had in myself started to fade, and I doubted whether or not this is what I was meant to do”. However, she eventually realized that every vision has a chain that tries to hold you down. “If it was easy, then everyone would have success. I was determined and held a purpose that I would make sure I fulfilled”.

Armed now with a direction and purpose for her music, her confidence in writing her own music grew and in November 2013, she would share the stage with the very band that lit the spark of her dreams-Flyleaf.

“To hear so many voices singing along to the songs , I was told would go nowhere...I could shout victory.

That moment showed me that dreams can be achieved; so I continue to strive for more and I hope to inspire others to do the same".

Celeste’s story that began from the humble beginnings of her family’s fire place mantel to performing with the band that influenced her music is far from over; it’s just the beginning. We at Young Guns Music Magazine believe that there is a lot more in store for this young artist and plan to keep our readers updated with her progress. Keep rocking girl.

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In the loop with 210 Local Media Mario Zamarron Being a DIY band in the Modern Age (Part 2) Last article, we covered social media, dealing with the media, and dealing with other bands. In this, our second part of our DIY experience.

Labels, Managers, and Industry Reps, Oh My! If you’re a DIY band, you haul your own gear, book your own shows or spot on a bill, and you make your own albums. “Most bands” want to get signed, want management, and want all the help they can get.

On the other hand, some bands want to get it all done on their terms and under their own steam. There’s nothing wrong with either. I would say it’s really up to the individual band as to what they want to do and how they want to do it. Recently, I signed two San Antonio bands to the artist management division of 210 Local Music; Slowlikefire and The Akuzma. With this in mind, I’ll start with the benefits of having help.

From a managers perspective (keep in mind, I’m very, very new at this), my job is to do as much as I can, aside from actually playing an instrument. A manager should handle all business aspects of a band, and in my opinion, a good manager should be able to take the weight of business off of the bands shoulders and allow them to focus on the music.

Some managers are very hands on and will act autonomously for the band. Most management contracts include a specified type of Power of Attorney (I’ll go into this a little, but I am not an attorney myself and my advice should not be seen as legal advice). This allows them to act on the bands behalf when it comes to that which is deemed within their rights to represent, based on what was agreed upon in the contract itself.

Other managers act as an extension of the band itself rather than a governing body. Their contract likely still includes the limited Power of Attorney clause, but they’ll likely use it in a “break glass in case of emergency” situations. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and I’m sure that there are other styles that define other types of managers, but this is only a few pages.

For more information on anything to do with the legal aspects of music, I’d recommend reading Music Law, 7th Edition, by Attorney Rich Stim. My main point is that at some time or another, it may become necessary to sign with an artist manager to help you get to where you want to go, or at least take on some of the music business stuff that you don’t want to handle.

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Do you want to play outside of your city, state, or time-zone? Then you’ll likely need the help of a booker as one point or another unless you have great contacts, know someone who has great contacts, or spend hours sending emails, texts, Facebook messages, or are calling places like crazy.

My (again, extremely limited) experience is that someone who is focused on booking is possibly the most important member of your team. Whether they’re a contracted booker, a booker that works with your manager, or just a great contact who’s willing to help, they are the key to getting you out there. I’ve been able to book a few bands on bills, put together my own shows at venues, and help fill bills when needed. It’s never been for money, and it’s never been under pressure. With handling my own bands, it’s one of the most important things ever and can be very high pressure. Nobody wants to drive several hours, play one show, and then drive all the way back home, having spent all of their pay on gas. This means booking a small leg of a tour. Getting in touch with venues can be rough, with some venues being locked away from the world and silent as a stone, and others having no social media links, or even having outdated contact information. Next, you have to worry about pay; door deals, splits, and (if you’re extremely lucky) guarantees. Needless to say, I’m not great at booking (yet), nor am I real fan of it (although, if I can learn and improve, that could impact my outlook later on). Point being, it can be rough if you’re just starting or don’t already have a major sphere of influence around you, so a booker might be just what you need to spread your music to places that have never heard of you before.

Labels are another beast all together. I would recommend releasing at least one EP or LP yourself first, just so you understand the process and everything that goes into it. Also, worst case scenario (if you don’t sign that album over to the label in the future), you’ll at least have something that you can make money off of, where most of it is yours. Indie labels are, by almost all accounts, easier to deal with. They usually have contracts that favor the musician, allow for the band to have most, if not all of the artistic freedom they want, and are usually less likely to ask for a huge amount of money to be recouped before the band gets theirs. However, with all of that nice sounding stuff out of the way, they usually don’t have nearly as many contacts in the industry as a major, don’t have the distribution power, nor do they have the giant signing bonus or budget that a major label will have access to.

In case you missed it though, major labels front money that they expect to recoup. Example: “Band A” signs with an indie label, works out a 50/50 split, and only gets a thousand dollars fronted to them, while “Band B” signs a major record deal and gets fronted $10K for recording their new album. “Band A” doesn’t owe anything past the thousand dollars that was fronted, and after that, they get half of each album sold. “Band B” sells ten thousand copies of their album, but after deductions (deductions for things that the record label deems necessary, but is usually just buffer to make more for themselves), what the label was entitled to recoup, and the percentage of post recoupable income per unit sold, “Band B” is either making pennies per cd sale AFTER the ten thousand units, or is still in the hole and owes even more to the major label.

Honestly, the best way to look at it is this; the indie label is the minor leagues (which has benefits; like more teams, consistent play, the ability to move from one to another without many issues, if the band has proven that they can at least turn a minor profit) and the major is, you guessed it, the major leagues (very few players compared to the minors and if you don’t make major profits, you’re out).

Don’t bank on being the next Pearl Jam or Nirvana, but expect to be in the realm of Black Lab (they tour occasionally, make a ton of music, and probably don’t have to have day jobs because they can live off of their music, but also aren’t a household name). I’m not saying to settle for less, I always say prepare for the worst, but work hard for the best. You won’t be disappointed, but you might be pleasantly surprised.

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I know I’ve qualified this article with enough “I’m still learning” time-outs, but I wanted to point it out so that everyone knows that this isn’t a one way conversation. I’m open to ideas, suggestions, agreements, and contrary views. Feel free to let me know if I’ve gotten it right, or if I’m terribly wrong. You can send any emails to 210LocalMedia@gmail.com or look for us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or check out our podcast, 210 Local Media Podcast, on iTunes, Speaker, and most places where podcasts exist. In the meantime, thanks for checking us out.

AKUZMA

Snow Like Fire

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Danielle Nicole

This month’s YGMM’s featured model is Danielle Nicole, She a 27 year old single mother of three beautiful daughters who hails from a small town in Indiana called Medaryville. Danielle has always loved modeling since she was a young girl. Her career began when she was just 12 years old. She views modeling as an art and when working on a project focuses on the job at hand; “It’s as if nothing else in the world exists except the photographer and I.” She took a break for a while but with the love and support of family and friends she was able to reenter the world of modeling.

YGMM posed a few questions to her to let our readers get a little more insight into Danielle’s career.

YGMM: Tell us about your very first professional modeling experience. What and where was it?

DN: My very first I was when I was 12 years old in Monticello, Indiana at a store called Fashion Bug. I was first offered just to do some photo shoots for them and the next thing I knew I was at all their events walking down their runway and it was then that I knew where my freedom was.

YGMM: What's the toughest thing about modeling?

DN: The demands of the world, you must be this size, or you need to do more of this or that instead of working with who you are as an individual. In this industry though there are billions of beautiful faces, you just have to be one of them that stands out amongst the crowd.

The other thing that really often times hurts me is the judgement other pass on you when they haven't a clue of who you are, but that comes with the territory as well. I look at it like if you aren't prepared to be talked about then you aren't prepared for success. You must take the good with the bad and keep on shining!!!

YGMM: Who or what inspires you?

DN: My children and God for sure, I want my girls to see that they are able to do anything they want in life if they just put enough time, effort and dedication into it; and God. He's a given; because without Him where would any of us be.

YGMM: One of our favorite questions, what's your favorite genre of music?

DN: I am very versatile when it comes to music. It is by far one of my favorite hobbies and when I am listening to it, sometimes it's for the beat but most of the time I listen for lyrics because it's the words that are said that keep my attention.

YGMM: Who's your favorite artist? (Musically) DN: My favorite, I would have to say it's a toss-up between T.I. and Eminem because they both are so real with their lyrics and what they have been through.

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YGMM: Last questions, what's your dream gig?

DN: This question is hard for me because I honestly don't know. It's not to be rich or famous; I guess I would say I just want to be remembered as the model with a huge heart. I don't necessarily have to be the hottest with best body, but I would totally love to be photographed in the ocean that would one day make it on the cover of a magazine. I have already made the magazine part, but I have yet to reach the ocean!

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EDITORS BE A ROCK STAR Want to be in a future edition of Young Guns Music Magazine? Submit your bio with a high quality photo of you and/or your band. We also ask that you submit a link to your music or music video where we can find out more about your music.

Submissions can be emailed to: info@younggunsmusicmagazine.com. We'll do our best to reply to all submissions. We've already received quite a few so we ask for your patience. Keep Rocking!

Contact Us: info@YoungGunsMusicMagazine.Com

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