INDIE NEWS BEAT
Week of September 5, 2003
* Buzz Communications Promote Artists With BuzzCommunicationsMusic.com
* Tinman Jones First Nationally-Released CD "POETIC"
* International Music Photographer's Work Represented by The Walnut Street Gallery
* The Brooklyn Brewery Presents: "Bands, Beats & Beer" At NYC's Knitting Factory
* SXSW 2004 Music Festival Showcase Applications Now Being Accepted
* Upstart Indie Artists Create Pioneering Music Event
* 2003 Kweevak.com CD of the Year Award Winners Announced
* IrishUnsigned Seeks Partners

Buzz Communications Promotes Artists With BuzzCommunicationsMusic.com

Andrea Hubbert, president of Buzz Communications LLC, announced the launch BuzzCommunicationsMusic.com as the launchpad for creative and practical campaigns targeted specifically to the musicians it serves. In addition to showcasing musicians, the music site will act as a means of providing visitors access to current articles, up-to-date news stories, an industry-related calendar of events, and many more features.

BuzzCommunicationsMusic.com will begin rolling out a series of interactive "talk back" functions that will provide both musicians a thriving, live community while becoming a haven for live music fans throughout the world. A member of the MusicDish Network, BuzzCommunicationsMusic.com will also be actively working with the music industry in order to become an essential part of musicians' daily operations.

"As we begin to promote the site, we look forward to the various members of the music industry enabling us to make it a useful destination for anyone who wants to stay abreast of all things music related," remarked Hubbert.

The site benefits from the experience of Buzz Communications, a rapidly expanding public relations firm assisting clients with marketing plans for the introduction of new products, special event planning, cause related partnerships, market research and more. The staff at Buzz Communications has been working with established and upcoming bands and record labels such as FAME Battle of the Bands Blue grand prize winner BLUE BACKGROUND, Milwaukee's #1 disco band THE BOOGIE MEN, three-time Wisconsin Area Music Industry winner EXIT as well as the Wisconsin Area Music Industry.

"I began Buzz Communications nearly three years ago because of my unwavering love of live music. Since then, I have been privileged to work with several first-rate bands. It is because of them that I am inspired to continue," said Hubbert.

Tinman Jones First Nationally-Released CD "POETIC"

Already a rock radio favorite with their independent release "Gravity Youth," Tinman Jones is poised to make a big impression on the masses with their first nationally-released CD entitled POETIC. The new CD is produced by Alan Shacklock of Abbey Road Studios fame in Britain whose resume' includes working with Meatloaf, Dennis DeYoung (Styx) and Newsboys, just to name a few. Tinman Jones felt the union stretched them creatively.

The band wrote all the lyrics and music for POETIC, and Keith says the title cut ruminates the frustration of songwriting. "When you begin to try to describe God and all that He is," says Keith, "you find out quickly how inadequate mere words can be. We try to be poets interpreting the things of God, but really we can't do it. He is beyond words."

Another standout is "Sunshine," marrying a driving beat and flawless vocals with the simple assertion that a relationship with God sheds light on any life. "Say Goodbye" pulsates with heavy guitar riffs, encouraging listeners to get through the spiritually dry times in their lives. POETIC also includes tunes that have already gained attention at radio, including the top ten hit "I Will," as well as "Superhero."

Having toured together for seven years now, performing over 400 shows in and outside their home state of Arkansas, Tinman Jones has steadily developed one of the most elaborate stage shows in the Christian rock industry. A Tinman Jones performance is more accurately described as a participation sport than a concert. The group's emphasis on special effects, choreography, lighting and 6000 watts of sound prompted Vic Sapp, bass player for the band Human to comment, "No one I've seen takes their live show as serious as Tinman Jones."

Tinman Jones will be on tour with Zoegirl, Tait, Skillet, Tree63, Nate Sallie, Detour180 and others at Shoutfest.

September Tinman Jones Tour Dates

International Music Photographer's Work Represented by The Walnut Street Gallery

Scott D. Smith is beyond your ordinary music photographer. He seeks the shot that best captures that moment in time with all the action and emotion that only live performance can bring out. In joining Walnut Street Gallery Smith's work resides next to work by John Entwistle of The Who, Tico Torres of Bon Jovi and Bill Kreutzmann from the Grateful Dead, Baron Wolman the first photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine and Paul Natkin, Chicago jazz and blues photographer.

Jon Sievert, noted rock photographer and author of Concert Photography says of Smith, "Scott has nailed some very fine images of many important musicians. I am especially impressed by the breadth of his musical taste and coverage. Most people can't see beyond one musical genre."

Smith's portfolio includes Audioslave, David Bryne, Sheryl Crow, Concrete Blonde, Snoop Dog, Buddy Guy, Garbage, No Doubt, The Pretenders, John Scofield, Joshua Redman, Lucinda Williams and many, many more. Smith's work is not limited to live music. He has photographed subjects as diverse as The Duchess of York, Stephen King, Mariel Hemingway, Hunter S. Thompson, Larry Flynt. In addition he has garnered nation attention for his work at Columbine High School. Smith's work has appeared in Rough Edge, FEMMUSIC, The Denver Post, and in publications from Germany to Tokyo.

The Brooklyn Brewery Presents: "Bands, Beats & Beer" At NYC's Knitting Factory

The Brooklyn Brewery will present "Bands, Beats & Beer" in the Tap Bar at New York City's Knitting Factory club Tuesday, September 30, beginning at 8:00 PM. The evening will feature performances by THE JANA PERI BAND, SHINER MASSIVE, ALEDA, ANOTHER BROTHER and S&M, featuring SAM MERRITT, MARY JANSS and DANA BALL. DJ WINTER will spin drum and bass throughout the night. All are employees of the Brewery.

The event is the brainchild of singer/songwriter/guitarist JANA PERI. In addition to fronting her own band, she works as a Sales Representative for The Brooklyn Brewery in Midtown Manhattan. Says PERI, "Music and beer have always gone hand-in-hand, so it is no surprise that musicians would be drawn to a job in the beer industry. The purpose of this event is to showcase the vast musical talent, working for our company." The Brooklyn Brewery has a long history as an ersatz patron of the arts, supporting the community by featuring local bands at Brewery events, and even providing local artists with a place for their work to be viewed by the public on a regular basis.

SXSW 2004 Music Festival Showcase Applications Now Being Accepted

"For three days each March, downtown Austin is the sight of one of the most vigorous, vibrant club scenes in the world, as attendees of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music & Media Conference pack venues to check out a diverse and seemingly never-ending parade of talent." Billboard, March 15, 2003

Since 1987 South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and Festival has been bringing musicians, record company executives, club owners, radio programmers, journalists, publicists and countless other people working in the music industry together. Over one thousand showcasing artists and solo acts from around the globe perform on 50 stages over the course of five nights, March 17 - 21, 2004 in Austin, Texas. Applications to perform at this extraordinary event are now being accepted.

Upstart Indie Artists Create Pioneering Music Event

On October 4, Venice Theatre Works will present "You CAN Take It With You," a pioneering evening of hot independent music that will send the audience home with more than just a memory. Using state-of-the-art technology, live sets by three of L.A.'s brashest independent artists will be captured on CDs manufactured on the spot which will roll out the door of the historic Miles Memorial Playhouse with fans that very evening.

The $10 admission price will include not only the entire live show, but also a CD of the ticket holder's choice of any one of the three live sets just witnessed. With CDs of the other two performances available for an additional $5 each, the event offers music fans a fantastic bang for their buck and a whole new way of directly supporting the artists they want to hear.

YCTIWY co-founders Amy Raasch and Gar Robertson have also pledged 5% of all ticket sales to non-profit, visionary artist collective Venice Theatre Works. Upon being approached with the idea, VTW's Justin Yoffe was inspired by this "amazingly immediate new way for the live music experience to really resonate," and signed on to produce the October 4 event.

2003 Kweevak.com CD of the Year Award Winners Announced

They labored very hard on making these records, and on this Labor Day Weekend, Kweevak.com announced that the fourth-annual CD of the Year Awards winners had been selected. This year, the popular music promotion site once again offered two separate categories of Awards - the "Viewer's Choice" awards (selected by viewers of the site) and "CD of the Year" awards (selected by employees and associates of Kweevak.com).

The 2003 "CD of the Year Awards" were presented to the Top-50 CDs sent to the website in the 2002 calendar year. The winners were chosen by a select panel consisting of the staff and associates of the Kweevak.com website. In the opinion of the judges these CDs represented the best submissions received for the year in terms of musical quality, production and overall theme!

IrishUnsigned Seeks Partners

IrishUnsigned, a promotion and information resource for artists and industry professionals, is seeking to build on existing projects to enable the development of the Irish artist, and the Irish industry - chronically underdeveloped.

IrishUnsigned works on a 'nursery' and 'exchange' basis whereby they assist industry organizations to test-market their "next big thing" in a market that is effectively a population-sample for a cost that is effectively miniscule. This reduces the overall cost of initially testing a new artist and means that the Industry can, if it wants, invest in testing more of them - thereby increasing their chances of finding one that 'sticks' while increasing the chance of more grass-roots Artists.

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