INDIE NEWS BEAT
Week of October 17, 2003
* Kin Za Za's "The River" Selected for Indie Music Video Festival
* Sultry Latin Jazz Release "Let Him Hear My Heart"
* Industrial Rock Artist DAX Partners With Focus Marketing
* A Call For Entries For The 1st Annual Buzz Music Calendar Contest
* "Guerrilla Music Marketing" Book Appears In Major Motion Picture
* Inside The Music Business Radio Show Gives Unsigned Artists Unique Exposure Opportunities
* Johnny Cash Musical Tribute Set For November 10

Kin Za Za's "The River" Selected for Indie Music Video Festival

Kin Za Za is the world's only independent band to produce 13 35MM videos and feature film

Montreal, Canada -- "The River" by Ambient-World, pop duo Kin Za Za was selected as one of 50 music videos for the 2nd Annual Indie Music Video Festival (www.imvf.com). The duo beat out artists, musicians and videographers from Canada, the U.S., U.K., Australia, Norway, and Germany to be included in the two-day festival touring through Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto, Seattle, Washington DC, Hamilton (ON) and Los Angeles.

"Kin Za Za were selected for the visual impact of the video and on the strength of the song, The River," said Festival Directors Nicole Steen.

'"Our activities as musicians, coupled with our life-long interest in filmmaking, placed us in touch with our personal merger of image, tone and rhythm," explained duo member and Director Dimitri Soukonnov. "We wanted to create a lyrical, romantic and melancholic flow of life imagery as perceived by a dreaming person."

""The River" is based on a personal sonic visualization of the Tibetan Book Of The Dead," influenced in part by conversations by Dimitri with actual monks in the southeast region of Siberia who practiced a form of shamanic Buddhism.

The next stop on the festival's, presented by Justice Through Music is on Saturday November 15 at the American Film Institute Silver Theater on Silver Spring, Maryland.

More on Kin Za Za
* Genre: Classic + Celtic + Electro + ... and maybe a slight touch of Trip-Hop
* Website: http://www.kinzaza.com
* Label: Three-Point-Two Records
* Buy "Number One in Shambala"
* Contact Dimitri Soukonnov: mailto:dimitri@kinzaza.com

Sultry Latin Jazz Release "Let Him Hear My Heart"

Deborah Resto brings sultry Latin jazz to the table with this debut release "Let Him Hear My Heart" on Latin Cool Records. The New York born Puerto Rican charms with an emotive and sensual vocal style. Her sultry intonations are wrapped in Latin rhythms and flawlessly intricate, smooth, contemporary arrangements.

The arrangements on Let Him Hear My Heart are a manifestation of fine and meticulous craftsmanship and immense talent. The vocalist has a hand in six of the ten arrangements here, a seamless mix of horns and string washes and Latin grooves; and when Resto isn't putting the charts together, Renee Leyva is, on the cool percolations of "Gracias" and "Lejos," the most percussive and most "Latin" sounding tunes on the disc.

"Many of the songs are autobiographical, or paintings of scenes or situations I or friends of mine may have experienced," explained Deborah. "CHEVERE for example has to do with a non-Hispanic guy and a Hispanic woman not speaking each other's language, but when they kissed the language was well understood."

What the media has to say:

"I should have put it on the minute it came in the mail. What a polished effort. Ms. Resto is one of the most sensual and emotive singers I've heard this year. Great production and arrangements, too. I'm partial to the two Renee Leyva arranged tunes, but the sounds are solid throughout." -- Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

"Let Him Hear My Heart is a romantic and exotic listening journey combining English and Spanish, often in the same songs. The smooth grooves are enhanced by salsa, bright horns and other cool textures that make this album extra special." -- Sandy Shore, Smooth Jazz

"SCINTILLATING... SULTRY... SEXY... These adjectives just begin to describe the long awaited vocal arrival of Deborah Resto. Her artistry will soon overwhelm and dazzle the music industry." -- Louis Laffitte, Latin Beat Magazine

Industrial Rock Artist DAX Partners With Focus Marketing

Focus Marketing to leverage its information management and marketing expertise to help elevate DAX to the next level.

Philadelphia, PA -- When Austin, TX based artist DAX decided to attend Jean-Marc Rejaud's workshop "The Why's and How's to Focus Your Music Career" at the 2003 Independent Music Conference in Philadelphia, little did he know the impact it would have on his career. "I found Jean-Marc's session at the Independent Music Conference to be extremely engaging and informative," says DAX, "a musician or band would be crazy not to consider the principles behind Focus Marketing."

It did not take long for Jean-Marc and DAX to develop a strong relationship and chart a strategy to propel the independent singer's career to the next level. Focus Marketing will apply its unique set of information management methodologies based on the "80/20 rule," with marketing best practices usually reserved for Fortune 100 companies.

"DAX has already achieved an impressive record of success for an independent artist and for me this is the clear sign that an artist is ready to reach the next level," explains Jean-Marc. "Our responsibility is to help leverage that success, fan base and valuable data to develop a practical and focused marketing strategy. Focus Marketing will leverage its methodology to leverage the 80/20 rule (where 20% of your customers are responsible for 80% of your business) to identify top fans and markets targets for DAX."

At the heart of Focus Marketing's approach are the tools and methodology to gather and analyze data on existing and potential fans and translate that information into targeted and cost-effective marketing strategies.

"Focus Marketing's expertise is not simply in applying the 80/20 rule," explains Jean-Marc. "Rather, it is our experience in information analysis and actual marketing campaign management for companies like American Express or L'Oreal that sets us apart. No other music marketing company can combine information and marketing skills with such a background of experience from top companies."

That message had a concrete impact at the Independent Music Conference where Jean-Marc was reinvited to IMC2003 Follow-Through Workshop, a series of monthly meetings providing follow-through advice and assistance of the lessons learned from the conference held this fall.

"I participated to many conferences so far and I have to recognize that the IMC is one of the most energizing forums for artists and music professionals that I have been exposed to," said Jean Marc. "Not only the content and the participants are of high quality, but Noel Ramos is not afraid to shake up the status Quo by promoting new ideas and concepts."

Focus Marketing, based out of Jersey City, NJ is a company bridging data analysis, marketing strategy development and implementation for the music industry. Url: http://www.focusmarketing.us/music/ Email: jmrejaud@focusmarketing.us

A Call For Entries For The 1st Annual Buzz Music Calendar Contest

Milwaukee, WISBuzz Communications, LLC announces yet another unique and exciting idea to promote the growing music scene all year long.

The full service public relations, marketing, and business development firm is introducing the First Annual Buzz Music Calendar Contest.

A call for entries is being sent out to musicians of all genres and locations. Submissions will be judged upon quality, originality and composition. Entries featuring the band near a well-known landmark in their town are highly encouraged. Submissions received after November 9, 2003 will not be accepted.

Submissions should include the best quality color photo of the band possible and a 3x5 card that lists: band name, names of each member, website, hometown and state, genre of music and a personal quote, and the photo credit.

The calendars will be printed on glossy 100 lb text weight paper and will measure 8.5" x 11" when folded, and 11" x 17" when hanging and feature full bleed dynamic color. Thirteen total images will be featured (one cover and 12 months) and all images will bleed to 11.5 x 9, trimmed 11 x 8.5. The Image Resolution will be 150-300 DPI.

All submitted photos become the property of Buzz Communications, LLC and will not be returned.

Bands should send submissions to: Buzz Communications, LLC; PO Box 370105; Milwaukee, WI; 53237-1205. Please mark "Photo Contest" on the outside of the package.

"Guerrilla Music Marketing" Book Appears In Major Motion Picture

Bob Baker's Self-Published Book Used Prominently in Jack Black's "The School of Rock" - #1 Film at the Box Office October 3-5

In an era when many companies pay big bucks to get their products "placed" in major motion pictures, one do-it-yourself author is enjoying widespread exposure with the appearance of his book in the new film "The School of Rock." And he didn't have to pay a dime or twist one arm to earn his spot on the Silver Screen. In fact, Paramount Pictures approached him to use the book in the movie.

"About a year ago I was contacted by a company that secures props for motion pictures and told that Paramount wanted a copy of my 'Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook' for possible use as a prop in a movie starring Jack Black," explains St. Louis, MO-based author/publisher Bob Baker. "I signed the release form and mailed off a copy."

Baker says he had mostly forgotten about the movie until he heard promotions for "The School of Rock" over the summer. "But I didn't get too excited," he admits. "I figured my book was one of many props gathered for the movie, and that I'd be lucky if it ended up on a bookshelf in the background."

Inside The Music Business Radio Show Gives Unsigned Artists Unique Exposure Opportunities

Inside The Music Business: The Weekly Radio Show with Eric Kline which just launched Sunday on 1080AM (in South Florida) and is simulcast and archived on InsideTheMusicBusiness.com, has announced two very unique opportunities for unsigned artists to receive exposure to the listening audience.

Each week, along side national execs and artists, a local unsigned act performs. In addition, Kline announced something that will guarantee an unsigned act exposure.

"We had an overwhelming response from local artists after Sundays show," says Kline. "People from S. Florida to Chicago were calling wanting to know how they could get on the show. I cam e up with the idea of designating a certain amount of my advertising space to those aspiring artists. If an artists truly believes in themselves, they can purchase :30 or :60 second spots that play their music and contain a directive such as a website for the public and the industry to check them out."

Johnny Cash Musical Tribute Set For November 10

A musical tribute to the late Johnny Cash is set to take place November 10 at the historic Ryman Auditorium with some of the biggest names in music.

Performers scheduled to-date includes his daughter, Rosanne, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, Hank Williams Jr., Jack Clement, Steve Earle and Larry Gatlin. Musicians not yet confirmed are Bob Dylan, Bono and Bruce Springsteen.

"John Carter, Rosanne and the rest of the family just wanted to give the public closure to their feelings about John's death," Lou Robin, Cash's manager said. "They thought maybe this would be an opportunity for a lot of different entertainers to come and voice their feelings and perform and entertain."

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