Torn..

This has been on my mind for a little minute

I recently qualified myself as a competent enough person to become a manager and I am not second guessing that decision at all, however; I have found myself torn over the relevancy of “dedication vs. talent” to “success” (however it may be defined).

Its occurred to me that defining success is obviously an important step and I have a whole other philosophy on defining “successeS” – plural and summing them and judging progress that way and on and on.. (takes breath)

Beyond that, I have been trying to quantify talent and dedication and I think I am looking at the dilemma far too logistically. It’s not math; I have an unfortunate habit of thinking in terms of absolutes like in math and science. But thats not to say that there isn’t a scientific approach to balancing the two.

Just found this unfinished post from AGES AGO and thought Id just post it… Thoughts?

Music and Comics?

Recently I have been speaking with and getting to know a dude who goes by “The Import” down here in New Orleans. Originally from France, he has lived all over Europe and now resides right here in New Orleans.
“Import” or Frenchy, as I was instructed to call him, is a man with many visions. Too many? I dont think there is such thing. He is a producer, artist, journalist, designer and Grinder extraordinaire. His latest projects include several print materials ranging from magazines to comics.

The Print – He is currently working on finalizing the first Issue of D@T magazine will features Louisiana music, artists, restaurants and retail as well as some from Mississippi given his trip for Gustav. The Comic Book (which interests me most) is extremely impressive. He has written a comic book specifically geared to gaining indie artists exposure through drawing them into this comic book world/story that he hopes will take off like the Boondocks did.

I think it ties into the video game and music combo thats becoming more and more popular. I have seen a few drafts and they look fantastic and hopefully will be able to assimilate into a more mainstream market for easier cultural absorption. I wish I had some material I could post but unfortunately I dont. When I do I will throw it up here and maybe some of you indie artists out there can hit me up to talk to him about getting your own character.

So until the final note,

Pacmizzle

Another LANE! Jacksons who?

Seriously… This family is whats up. If you dont know then you ought to. Tim, Stephen and April Lane are smashing youtube right now looking for people to work with and you would do well to jump on this train as a producer/ writer/ supporter.. whatever. Just get to know these guys sooner rather than later.

The latest from April Lane

Street Kidd!

EXCLUSIVE!! Drumma Boy Interview!

With host Rockwell from RockwellBeats.com comes this Exclusive interview with one of the hottest producers in the game right now, Drumma Boy. I was lucky to accompany Rockwell to Patchwerk Studio in Atlanta, GA and speak to Drumma Boy and watch him at work. This is the first segment entitled “The Past” in a 3 part interview series with Drumma so stay posted and enjoy!

Finally Common’s New Album!… wait….

Maybe not!

It seems that Common’s upcoming album Universal Mind Control, was initially scheduled for this past summer and given its anticipation, a push back to November was to say the least upsetting. According to Billboard now, Common’s much awaited 8th solo release has now been pushed again to December 9th.

The album will feature select artists from Cee-Lo Green, Kanye West and Pharrel Williams.

For those who are dying for SOMETHING from this album, the best I can do is the track list. ENJOY!

1. Universal Mind Control
2. Punch Drunk Love (feat. Kanye West)
3. Make My Day (feat. Cee-Lo Green)
4. Sex 4 Sugar
5. Announcement (feat. Pharrell Williams)
6. Gladiator
7. Changes
8. Inhale
9. What A World
10. Everywhere

I’m very excited about it, and I like this structure of shorter albums. I can only assume that these 10 songs will be extremely well put together and missing nothing; where if he had forced 17 songs onto it (Common would pull it off) but I appreciate brevity. THANKS COMMON!

Wu-Tang’s Upcoming National Tour + Dates

The Wu-Tang Clan will be embarking on a lengthy tour of the United States next month.

According to Live Daily, the tour will launch in Portland on November 29th and will wrap up in Atlanta on January 29th.

As reported earlier, the legendary rap group will be releasing a documentary DVD next month.

The DVD, titled Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan, chronicles the group’s rise and also features rare footage. The DVD is slated to hit stores on November 18th.

Below are the scheduled dates and venues for the tour:

November 2008
29 – Portland, OR – Roseland Ballroom
30 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory

December 2008
1 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
3 – San Francisco, CA – The Grand Ballroom at the Regency Center
4 – West Hollywood, CA – House of Blues
5 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues 
6 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues 
7 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee
8 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre
10 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
14 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues 
15 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
17 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues 
18 – Rochester, NY – Main Street Armory
19 – Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
20 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
21 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
23 – New York, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom

January 2009
1 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
2 – Providence, RI – Lupo’s
4 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
7 – Norfolk, VA – The Norva
8 – Richmond, VA – Toad’s Place
9 – Greensboro, NC – N Club
10 – Charleston, SC – Music Farm
11 – Charlotte, NC – Amos’ Southend
12 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
13 – Columbia, SC – LEVEL
14 – Atlanta, GA – venue to be announced

Will-I-Am: Talent Diversification at It’s Best

Whats goin on people, 

Wanted to clue you in on someone who has capitalized on the need for music in so many different industries.

So often I preach to friends and artists about the importance of using the talents that one has to broaden their reach to as many people, industries, fields.. whatever. Will-I-Am of the Black Eyed Peas is a fantastic example. He has been a huge force in the music world and recently branched into the world of cinema. This is an articel written on one of his newest ventures.

 

Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am will be appearing in the upcoming sequel of the popular animated film Madagascar. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa finds the Central Park Zoo animals (voiced by Chris Rock & Ben Stiller) still trying to find their way back home. Will.i.am will be voicing the role of a new character called ‘Moto Moto’. Will.i.am also scored the movie’s soundtrack along with legendary composer Hans Zimmer. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa will open in theatres on November 7th while its soundtrack will hit shelves on November 4th.

Ronald Jenkees – Phenom!

Last night while fighting to keep my eyes open my friend sent me a link to check out this guy Ronald Jenkees He said was an awesome producer and I needed to check him out. I was exhausted.. I really didnt feel like clicking a link, waiting for youtube to load, and then listening to something sub-par. 

Luckily he was incredible!

“Thanks to all of my friends and subscribers. I’m very thankful for your viewership!! Before you ask, I’m a perfectly normal and healthy guy, just a little geeky and different – but that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. My hope is that you are entertained and at the same time, inspired to make music. Anyone can have fun with music.

I make music because it’s fun. I play by ear (since I was very young), never stuck with lessons, and mainly try to write my own stuff. I prefer not to sample when making my music, but that’s not to take away from the talented folks who produce cool stuff by sampling.”

His music really does speak for itself but watching him brings it into an entirely new light. Below is a video and I hope you will watch it and even go on to buy his CD and be on the lookout for his second CD dropping soon!

Celebrate INDIE Music with CELEBRATE RADIO

Celebrate Radio, which is a service from the non-profit Streetcats Foundation is offering Indie Musicians VERY low cost, ON-Air, WORLD WIDE, radio promotion for a year in 87 countries. The organization is raising money for their international at-risk youth initiative. Bands and musicians are offered a number of on-air promotions throughout the year.

“They start with carrying musicians/bands on-air promotional station IDs for an entire year run-of-schedule for just $35-$45 total to featuring their 3-4 song special about 12 times a year for a 1-time yearly donation of $75-$115.00 or on international short wav radio to 14 million listeners for $85-$115 . There are other promotions available that are given for donations above $35 and blow $85 a year as well.”

Of course they have say over what is acceptable for their station and they are very clear that no explicit language is to be used.

I think this is a great representation of just how far the music industry is branching. Not only has this non-profit organization incorporated music into their activities which everyone does now, they have taken it a step further and are offering low cost promo to ANYONE. It’s just great that the search for new, innovative, meaningful music extends so far and that people are becoming more and more accessible from the their communities to the rest of the world.

For more info on CELEBRATE RADIO check out their website HERE

I know I’ll be submitting my artists music to them. Its a great opportunity, a great cause, and an easy process towards getting your music into new markets so

Until the final note…

Pacmizzle