INDIE NEWS BEAT
Week of September 12, 2003
* Grammy & Dove Award Winning Amy Grant Releases Simple Things
* World Music Webcast Keeps World Music Alive 24/7
* Sweden And The United States: Hooked On A Musical Partnership
* BrokenNess CD Voted One Of The Top 50 CD'S For 2003!
* Superna Signs Management Contract With Infinite Management LLC
* Christine Martucci And Her Band Enter The Final Round Of Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo Competition
* Life Without The Dead Kennedys
* The Pretenders - "Loose In L.A.- Live At The Wiltern Theatre" DVD

Grammy & Dove Award Winning Amy Grant Releases Simple Things

"I know how it feels to go into a studio to start a record, and eight weeks later it's finished. I know how an intense schedule feels. Simple Things was the antithesis of all that."

So says Amy Grant, whose new A&M/Word release Simple Things was three full years in the making. Was it worth the wait? You bet. Emotional, honest songs, glistening productions, arrangements that sweep through fields of strings and settle into a nest of solo acoustic guitar -- every detail of her seventeenth album exceeds the singer's standards, which are as high as standards come in this business.

It began in the summer of 2000, when Amy and her husband Vince Gill left Nashville with producer Keith Thomas and a few co-writers for a week in Destin, Florida. In a house just steps from the shore, they'd pair off after breakfast and write songs together. Then, as evening neared, they'd gather, compare notes, share quiet as well as festive moments.

"One night we were all going out to dinner," Amy remembers. "We all dressed up and went down to the beach to take our pictures in that beautiful sunset. Somehow we wound up running into the ocean and getting drenched in all our nice clothes." Much of the material on Simple Things took form during that idyll: "Looking For You," "Happy," the title cut, and one song, "Touch," that perhaps conveys the feeling of that time more vividly than anything else on the album.

Shortly after coming back home, with every intention to begin her next project, Amy discovered that she was pregnant. Priorities quickly shifted, as she gave birth to her and Vince's first child, Corrina. For nearly a year Amy was able to record only sporadically -- sometimes just two days a month. "So much of my energy was going into my family that when I was able to get to the studio I felt like, 'Oh, yeah! Now I remember! I have interests! I make music!'"

In the perspective that took form after September 11, a new meaning emerged as Amy and Wayne worked on the song. "The words 'all I know is now' came from the uncertainty we felt," she says. "It's like when you're sitting in a waiting room at the hospital: Nothing exists except for that moment you're in. It might not be over 911, but we've all felt that odd way that life and tragedy bring people together."

Which brings Simple Things into full circle. From the personal to the global, from the playfulness of "Happy" through the impassioned duet shared by Amy and Vince on "Beautiful," Simple Things is perhaps the most intimate glimpse ever offered into the heart of this artist. With tracks brilliantly produced by Keith Thomas, Brown Banister and Wayne Kirkpatrick, this music seems to rush through storms and sunlight before coming to rest in "After the Fire," a summary of all that we've experienced on our own and heard on this disc -- simple, soft, and quietly triumphant.

World Music Webcast Keeps World Music Alive 24/7

World Music Webcast (WMW) is radio made the old-fashioned way, but with a worldwide consciousness. While the term "World Music" is an invented label, the fact that WMW is the world's only live hosted Internet audio stream featuring ONLY World Music is indisputed. World Music Radio favors folk and/or ethnic-based music, effectively blending both traditional ethnic AND contemporary eclectic styles, from all over the world.

Based in San Diego, World Music Webcast is an Internet broadcast service of The World Music Radio Society, a non-profit educational organization. The primary objective of The World Music Radio Society is to promote an appreciation of "world music," that is, music recorded and performed by artists from around the world, and to provide this music to the listening public via the Internet.

True to its mission of providing music "you simply will not hear on broadcast radio," WMW is not a juke-box or "canned" audio programmed by a single person, but LIVE-hosted programs produced in the station's own Webcast Studio. With a weekly schedule divided into Eclectic Programming and Specialty Shows, World Music Webcast has continually striven to be musically INclusive, rather than EXclusive.

Launched on the Internet July 26, 1999, World Music Webcast has developed a loyal base of listeners from more than 58 countries on earth as well as favorable reviews in national and San Diego press, including USA Today, Global Rhythm Magazine, and San Diego Magazine, among others.

You can find World Music Webcast live stream and complete schedule at: www.worldmusicwebcast.com

Sweden And The United States: Hooked On A Musical Partnership

On October 28, 2003, the Consulate General of Sweden in New York and Export Music Sweden will present a music industry seminar and networking event at New York's TriBeCa Grand Hotel.

The seminar will focus on the unique, extensive and highly successful relationship between the Swedish and U.S. music industries. Several moderated panels featuring major music personalities from both countries will discuss the latest industry news, the hottest new artists, the most interesting developments, deals and collaborations, and much more. All participants are invited to a reception immediately following the seminar.

All participants are invited to a reception immediately following the seminar, as well as a Swedish Music Showcase later that same evening.

BrokenNess CD Voted One Of The Top 50 CD'S For 2003!

Mix The Beatles 'Sgt Pepper', Bob Dylan's 'Blood On The Tracks', a recovering heroin addict, the unconditional love of a child and the power of music and you get the darkly inspiration CD 'ICU In Dandylions' by singer-songwriter Regan Lane and his band BrokenNess, recently voted one of the top 50 CD'S on Kweevak.com, one of the webs most respected supporters of indie music.

The 2003 "CD of the Year Awards" were presented to the "Top-50" winners as chosen by a select panel consisting of associates and staff of the Kweevak.com website. These CDs represented the best submissions received for the year in terms of musical quality, production and overall theme!

Superna Signs Management Contract With Infinite Management LLC

Houston Texas based rock band Superna, a Solar Flare Records recording artist signed a management contract with Arizona based management company Infinite Management LLC September 2nd, 2003.

According to Travis Davis, Artist Rep. from Infinite "Everyone at Infinite is excited about Supernas prospects, and we are all delighted to have the opportunity to work with such an original band, as well as Solar Flare Records. We consider this a partnership between the three of us, and look forward to our mutual success".

Solar Flare Records president Bob Wilkinson says "It took less than a month for Superna's talents to be recognized by others in the industry since the release of 'The Ending', Supernas sophomore recording, but I am surprised it took that long."

Christine Martucci And Her Band Enter The Final Round Of Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo Competition

After winning the semi-final round of a local band competition at the Hard Rock Cafe in Atlantic City, The Christine Martucci band has placed third among the final five bands competing to win the exciting chance to open for Sammy Hagar in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Voting took place online at www.cabowabo.com -- where fans could vote for their favorite band -- and came to a close on August 29th. Now Sammy Hagar himself, along with Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and three other heavy hitting industry representatives will choose the band that will open for Sammy in Cabo. The decision will be announced on September 19th.

"The Christine Martucci Band would like to thank all of our fans, friends, and everyone who voted for us, for allowing us to be in the final five," Christine said when informed of her band's position in the final stage of the competition, which featured twenty-five bands. "The guys and I will definitely be making a toast of Cabo Wabo Tequila to Sammy tonight! Cabo here we come!"

Life Without The Dead Kennedys

D.H. Peligro, drummer for the Dead Kennedys announced today the formation of his new record label Dirrty Records.

"Dirrty Records will provide a unique opportunity for its artists," says Peligro." Many artists including myself have faced obstacles presented to them by the traditional music business but I plan to change all that."

The Label will produce, distribute and promote releases specifically in the genres of rock, modern metal, hardcore and punk.

The Pretenders - "Loose In L.A.- Live At The Wiltern Theatre" DVD

The Pretenders have been consistently making classic albums and hit singles in a career that now spans 25 years. Lead by the charismatic Chrissie Hynde, possessor of one of the most recognizable voices in rock music, they have topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and in many other territories around the world.

Loose In L.A. is the first Pretenders in concert DVD to be released. It was recorded at the Wilton Theatre, Los Angeles on the US Tour for their latest album Loose Screw (EAGCD256) in February this year. The concert combines a number of tracks from the Loose Screw album with favorite album tracks and a greatest hits selection including: Talk Of The Town, Back On The Chain Gang, Don't Get Me Wrong, Kid, I'll Stand By You and their international No.1 hit Brass In Pocket.

Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © Tag It 2003 - Republished with Permission